Undercover Trouble
by midnightread
Summary: When NCIS and the detectives from the 12th meet on a case involving bikes and drugs the undercover work is bound to go wrong. Going to have both TIVA and Caskett shipiness
1. Chapter 1

**My exams start next week so I needed something to do to relax and since I've got writers block on my story All Fall Down I'm working on this.**

**This is my first crossover of any sort so reviews will be appreciated. Enjoy :)**

**P.S. I might change to title since I'm not totally happy with the one I got.**

"Who's our vic?" Beckett asked, walking under the crime scene tape then holding it up for Castle who was following close behind.

"Colonel Martin Sumner. He's a marine," Esposito answered, handing her his wallet and navy ID.

"Oh brilliant," Beckett said, her voice dripping in sarcasm, "That means NCIS need a call."

"Or not," a voice said from behind them.

Castle and Beckett turned in complete sync, with Esposito about a half second behind them. They were met by the sight of four people in NCIS caps standing at the end of the alley, their side of the tape. The man in front had grey hair and was obviously in charge, slightly behind him stood a geeky looking guy who was taping away at his phone. The rest of the team, a man and a women, were stood further back and were arguing about something and by the looks of it the women was getting annoyed while the man just looked like he was having fun.

The grey haired man walked forward and said, "Special Agent Gibbs," he introduced himself then gestured behind him, "Guy on the phone is Special Agent Timothy McGee and the two arguing are Special Agents Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo."

Beckett was silent for a moment then said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Detective Kate Beckett, that's Detective Javier Esposito," she pointed over at Esposito, "ME Lanie Parish," Lanie looked up and smiled before going back to the body, "And this is my partner Richard Castle."

Castle reached out his hand and Gibbs shook it.

McGee looked up at the mention of Castle's name and walked over, "The Richard Castle? The author of Derek Storm?"

Castle nodded and smiled, "And Nikki Heat of course."

McGee nodded, "I'm a big fan," he looked over at Beckett and said, "So you must be the inspiration for Heat."

Beckett nodded, by now she was used to people pointing out she was Nikki Heat, although she still wasn't completely happy with that name.

"Yep the one and the only," Castle said with a smile, before continuing, "So you like my books then."

Before McGee could answer Beckett turned to Castle and said, "Crime scene Castle."

"Yep sorry," he looked at McGee, "When the lady says zip it I do, or she threatens to shoot me."

Behind them they heard Lanie and Esposito snort but neither said anything and Beckett glared at him.

Before anyone could say anything else Ziva and DiNozzo walked over, "Is it him boss?"

Beckett spoke up before Gibbs could answer, "Not that I don't appreciate one less phone call to make, but how the hell did you get here without us ringing you?"

"We've been following Sumner for a few months," Gibbs answered, "He's suspected of smuggling drugs on ships then using gangs here in New York to distribute."

"What gangs?" Beckett asked the older man.

"One of the local biker gangs."

Beckett nodded then looked between the agents and the dead body, "So you're crime scene?"

To everyone immense surprise, especially his teams, Gibbs shook his head, "No, I know who you are detective and I think we can help each other."

Then DiNozzo spoke, "How the hell do you know her boss?"

He looked over at DiNozzo and then back at Beckett, "Fornell was telling me about a case that the FBI ran with the NYPD about a crazy stalker after Nikki Heat and I heard about the dirty bomb they defused."

"They did what?" Ziva asked, sounding a little shocked.

"They defused a dirty bomb set to go off in the middle of the city with seconds to spare," Gibbs answered in a calm tone.

Ziva looked at Beckett and said, "Detective, I'm impressed."

Beckett shook her head, "Wasn't me, was him," she said, nodding at Castle, who was watching them talk.

He shrugged, "I got lucky."

Esposito laughed behind them and Ziva and DiNozzo looked at him, questions in their eyes. Esposito looked between Castle and Beckett and then answered their unanswered question, "He yanked out all the wires just as the timer ran out."

"And you're still here?" McGee sounded shocked, and from the looks on DiNozzo's and Ziva's faces they felt the same way.

Beckett and Castle looked at each other and gave each other a private smile before Castle turned and looked back at the NCIS team, "We tend to have good luck. I think that case we should have died what was," he looked at Beckett, "Three times?"

Beckett nodded, "Yep, gun, freezer and the bomb." As she spoke she counted off on her fingers.

DiNozzo, Ziva and McGee all looked shocked and like their jaws were about to drop, even Gibbs looked slightly shocked by what they had said but he hid it better.

"Yeah, yeah," Lanie said, rising from her kneeling position by the body and moving to stand by Esposito, "You two should have died about twenty times and you save each other. We all know you never talk about it so zip and do some work."

Esposito stood beside her, his mouth slightly open, taken aback by what his girl had just said to her best friend and in front of guests.

"Mam yes mam," Castle muttered under his breath.

Beckett smiled and elbowed him in the ribs, "Shh, she can make it look like an accident."

Castle smiled back at her then turned to look at Lanie who gave the partners a glare them said, "My body or do you want to do the autopsy?"

Gibbs thought for a minute before saying, "Ducky has been saying he wants a trip, so would it be alright if he came and did the autopsy here. You can work together or whatever."

"Sure," Lanie said before kneeling back down by the body.

"Hey Esposito," Beckett said, looking over at the detective, "Where's Ryan?"

"He said something about dumpster diving with the unis for an ID," Esposito answered with a shrug.

Beckett gave him a look and he visibly shrunk, "And I was just about to go help him."

He walked off and Castle couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. Beckett gave him the look she reserved especially for him and said, "Don't be annoying or I'll phone your mother and get her to take you home."

Castle gasped and said, in a wounded tone, "Detective you wouldn't."

Beckett managed to keep a straight face for all of a minute before she smiled. The NCIS team watched them with interest for a moment before DiNozzo asked, "So how come you two work together? I mean he's a writer."

"She arrested me and I stuck around," Castle answered with a smile.

Beckett sighed, "No, you got the mayor to agree to let you follow me."

Castle shrugged, "You'd miss me if I wasn't here."

Beckett did deny it just turned to the NCIS team and said, "So, do you know what Sumner was doing here?"

Gibbs nodded, "We're pretty sure he was meeting a contact." Beckett nodded and was about to say something when Castle pocket started shouting DAD DAD DAD.

He fished his phone out his pocket and answered it, "Hey pumpkin, what can I do for you?" he listened for a moment, giving an occasional grunt then said, "Sure, don't do anything I would do." He stopped talking and listened to the reply before saying, "I have no idea how I had such a responsible daughter. Love you too pumpkin." He hung up then turned back to the group, "Sorry, my daughter."

"She alright?" Beckett asked as he pushed his phone back into his pocket.

"Yeah, just wanted to tell me she was going out with Paige."

Beckett nodded, "Hope she has a good time," she turned back to the watching NCIS team and said with a small smile, "You'll get used to it. We're not a completely normal team. His fault," she pointed at Castle.

"Hey," he pouted, then shrugged, "Actually you're right."

The NCIS team looked between the two of them, Gibbs shaking his head while the other three smiled.

**They've changed the review button and you know you want to test it :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I should be in bed asleep since it's half two in the morning. it means its dark so please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

The five of them stood and waited for Lanie to do a prelim. When she stood she turned to them and said, "Cause of death looks like a shot to the heart." Beckett unconsciously rubbed her chest as Lanie spoke which didn't go unnoticed by the NCIS agents but none of them said anything as Lanie continued, "I'm going to say time of death was around two and three this morning."

Beckett nodded and then looked at her father's watch, "So around five hours ago."

DiNozzo nodded and said, "Must have used a silencer since no one called it in after the gun shot."

Beckett shook her head, "In this neighbourhood gunshots rarely get called in. the shots either go unregistered since their so common around here or if anyone does actually see anything they don't speak for fear of retaliation."

Ziva looked around before saying, "So canvasing isn't going to be much use then."

Castle shook his head, "Probably a waste of time but sometimes people talk."

Beckett nodded and pulled out her phone but before she could do anything with it Esposito and Ryan came back arguing, "You could have said you found his dog tags, you know how much I love the dumpsters in this area."

"Dude, you left before I could tell you then Beckett got here and I got distracted."

"Boys," Beckett said, as the arguing pair came to a stop by the body, "Ryan, these are NCIS Special Agents Gibbs, McGee, DiNozzo and David. Agents this is Esposito's partner Kevin Ryan."

"Nice to meet you," McGee said.

"Hey," Ryan said, greeting them all before looking at Beckett and asking, "Do you mind if I leave and meet you back at the 12th in a bit? Jenny called while I was in the dumpster and she needs a hand with something, wouldn't say what."

Beckett nodded, "Sure Ryan. We'll see you in a bit."

Ryan smiled, "See you in a bit." He started off walking to the pavement before turning back and saying in a voice loud enough to carry to the team over the noise of traffic and air cons, "Hey Espo, I'm taking the car, you can ride with Beckett and writer boy." He gave them one last smile and then disappeared into the crowd on the other side of the crime tape.

"Don't worry honey, you can ride with me and the body," Lanie smiled up at him and he smiled back, nodding his thanks.

"Hey," Castle said, sounding hurt, "What's wrong with riding with us?"

Esposito raised his eyebrow, then seeing that Beckett and Castle actually had no idea why he would rather ride with a dead body than with them he said, "You two may be able to have conversations without speaking but I can't and it's just plain awkward sitting in the back of your car while the two of you do what you do." He smirked.

"Do what we do?" Beckett asked, her hands on her hips, "And what exactly is it that we do?"

"I… um… you… um…" he looked at Lanie for help.

She smirked and said, "The conversations you two have with your eyes are something else and the way you two finish each other's sentences, while sweet, is a little disturbing for the rest of us."

Castle and Beckett looked at each other then back at Lanie, "Thank you Lanie," Beckett said, "See was that so hard Esposito?"

He looked between Castle and Beckett, both of whom were now smirking then started muttering in Spanish.

"Conversations with their eyes?" Ziva asked DiNozzo quietly, not understanding. He shrugged.

Lanie over heard what they were saying and told them in a quiet voice, "Stick around long enough and you'll find out."

Ziva and DiNozzo nodded and moved out the way as Lanie loaded the body onto the gunnery with the help of Esposito and pushed it to the van. "We'll see you in a bit," Lanie threw over her shoulder as she loaded the body and got in after, Esposito nodded, smirked and got in after her.

"Looks like it's just us left," Beckett said, speaking to the NCIS team, "Shall we go to the 12th and sort out everything there. We need to talk to the Captain if we're working together."

Gibbs nodded, "I need to phone Ducky, Abbs and Director Vance."

"Abbs?" Castle asked.

"Our forensic scientist, she came with us to help McGee with some computer stuff," Gibbs said.

"It's not computer stuff boss, it's…" he stopped talking when he saw the look on Gibbs face, "Yeah, computer stuff."

Beckett nodded, "How about you pick her up and then come to the precinct."

"Sure," Gibbs said then he turned to his team, "DiNozzo, David go with the detective and sort out things with her captain." The two of them nodded, "McGee and I will pick up Abbs and meet you there in an hour or so."

He turned and left, McGee following close behind.

Beckett and Castle turned to Ziva and DiNozzo, "Looks like your riding with us then."

They all walked to the road and then to the Crown Vic. Beckett and Castle got into the customary seats while Ziva and DiNozzo slid into the back seats. Once they were all in Beckett started the engine and pulled out into traffic.

Castle twisted slightly in his seat and looked back at Ziva and DiNozzo who were doing their seat belts. DiNozzo saw that he was watching them and asked, "Is your ME always that grumpy?"

Beckett shook her head, "Nope. Normally she's the happiest person you're ever likely to meet, don't know what got into her today."

Ziva and DiNozzo looked at each other and smiled. "I think Abby would give her a run for her money. It sounded like she pissed about you two never talking about what happens," Ziva said, earning her a shocked look from DiNozzo, which she ignored.

Castle and Beckett both shrugged, knowing she was right but also knowing that they weren't good at talking, unless they were about to die.

Noticing that Castle and Beckett looked slightly awkward DiNozzo said, "So how many times have you tricked death?"

Castle smiled, "After that bank case I went through saves, what was the tally in the end?"

Beckett glared, "You remember full well, now answer his question and stop being a pain."

Castle pouted but smiled and said, "I've saved her nine times she's saved me eight."

DiNozzo and Ziva both looked at each other Ziva asked, "How long have you worked together?"

"Nearly four years," Castle answered with a smile.

"You're either really lucky or really unlucky," Ziva said as Beckett braked yet again when a cab cut her off.

"It's a mixture of the two," Beckett said, watching in her mirrors to make sure there were no more surprises.

"So what was the list?" DiNozzo asked, curious about this partnership.

"Well the first time Beckett saved me was on the first case we worked, the vic's brother was the killer and when we went to get him he escaped down the fire escape and ran down the alley, I followed him and then he held a gun to my head. She stopped him."

Beckett cut across him, "The safety was on the whole time Castle."

He shrugged, "It's the thought that counts. The one after that was when she told me to stay in the car but then the perp landed on the hood trying to escape and pulled me out and was going to shoot me until she stood on his wrist which stopped him. Another time she pulled me out of a card game with the Russian mob right before he tried to kill me since I can't control my big mouth." Beckett smiled at him after he said that and he continued to say, "First case back after the summer I shot the guy behind her while she shot the women behind me, we saved each other that time. Then the 3XK case, she saved me a Ryan. The same case with the dirty bomb she covered me while we were getting shot at so we could hid in the freezer, not a good idea in hindsight." The two of them shivered slightly at the memory before Castle continued, "And then she threatened a guy holding me hostage in a bank who was about to shot me."

Beckett shrugged, "All I did was tell the truth, if he had shot you I would have walked through those doors and done the same to him." She caught his gaze and held it for a moment before looking back at the road.

Ziva and Tony smiled at each other, both know understanding what Esposito and Lanie had meant about the silent conversations. "What about the eighth time?" Ziva asked, "You only said seven."

"I shot the hit man who killed my mum," Beckett said in a quiet voice, "He had a gun on Castle and would have shot him if I didn't."

Ziva could tell that Beckett didn't want to say anymore and when she saw Tony opening his mouth to ask her more about it she elbowed him and swiftly shook her head. He looked affronted for a moment before he too realised that she really didn't want to talk about it. "So what about you Mr. Castle?" Ziva asked quickly to change the subject.

Castle looked at her and gave her a nod of thanks, obviously having seen what she had done to DiNozzo, "Please call me Castle, the only people who call me Mr. Castle I don't like." Ziva smiled at him and he started to speak again, "The first time was when I distracted a shooter with a bottle of champagne," he saw their puzzled looks and continued to say, "We were in a women's flat, finding evidence for the case when the suspect came in and shot at us. We his behind the kitchen counter but since Beckett didn't know where he was she couldn't shot him so I pulled a bottle off the rack and went one way, pulling the cork to distract him while Beckett went the other way and shot him. After that was the FBI case your boss was on about. We thought we'd killed the stalker but it turned out he was alive and I warned Beckett just before a bomb blew her place up with her inside. My warning gave her time to dive into the tub and be sheltered from the blast. I saved her again when the same guy was about to shot her and I shot him in the wrist so he dropped his gun, although I was aiming for his head," he said as an quiet after thought, Beckett shook her head and he smiled at her before continuing, "The case where we shot the people behind each other a few minutes before that I tackled her out of the path of a bullet. The buried treasure case we had a disrupted a Mexican standoff. Not long after that I punched the guy who was trying to shot her while we were rescuing Ryan and Esposito. And you've heard about the bomb." He stopped, unwilling to say the last one on his list.

Beckett solved that problem for him when she said, "His ninth save was when he stopped me from bleeding out at our captains funeral after I got shot by a sniper." She looked in the rear view mirror and saw the looks on their faces. "It's complicated but basically the people who killed my mum killed my captain and then tried to kill me."

They were all silent for a moment before Castle said, "Does the tiger count as a save."

Since they were stopped at traffic lights Beckett took the opportunity to glare at him, "Ryan and Espo saved us, your idea would have killed us."

He shrugged, "It was just a thought." He saw the puzzled looks on Ziva and Tony's faces and said, "One of the cases this year we got drugged and hand cuffed together and then put in a room next to a hungry tiger and thinking it was a girl we broke down the wall and let her into the same room as us. The only reason we didn't get eaten was because we hung like monkeys on the roof."

Ziva and Tony looked at each other and then back at Castle, wondering if he was serious. Beckett saw their look and as the light changed said, "All true. And Castle, don't even start with the CIA case, although you did pull me out of the sinking car so I guess that's a save."

He smiled, "Oh yeah I forgot that one," he shivered, "Not good memories." Beckett reached across the console and gave his hand a quick squeeze in reassurance before quickly putting both hands on the wheel and acting like that hadn't just happened. Castle's face suddenly brightened, "I just realised, FBI then CIA now NCIS, we're working our way through the alphabet."

Beckett groaned quietly, this was going to be a long case.

**I know where the story is going for a change so you could get a new chapter fairly soon, or you might have to wait awhile, it all depends on whether or not I have to go camping with my family for the weekend. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

They parked in front of the precinct and all got out. Castle and Beckett walked into the foyer with DiNozzo and Ziva following close behind. Once in the lift Castle and Beckett moved towards the back and stood close together while Ziva and Tony stood nearer the front. After Castle reached past and pushed the button for the homicide floor he asked, "So how long have you two worked together?"

"As an NCIS agent two years but in total seven," Ziva answered.

"What about the other five years?" Castle queried.

"I was a Mossad liaison officer attached to NCIS."

"Yep, she's got the super ninja skills to prove it too," DiNozzo quipped. He quickly took a step back when Ziva jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.

"Mossad, wow," Becket commented, "So how many languages can you speak."

Ziva smiled at her but before she could answer the lift dinged and they all got out and walked over to Beckett's desk. Seeing that Gates was on the phone Beckett said, "Give it a minute for her to finish up then we'll go talk to her."

Ziva and DiNozzo nodded and Ziva took the chance to say, "I'm fluent in Spanish, French, Arabic, English and Hebrew and I know German, Italian, Turkish and Russian."

Beckett smiled and said, "А вы говорить на русском. Это круто. Не былохорошей практикой, в то время."

Ziva returned the smile and answered, "Вы знаете русский язык?" She couldn't help but sound surprised.

"Провел некоторое время в Kyiv Когда я учился в школе," Beckett replied, not taking offence at the surprise in Ziva's voice.

Tony and Castle looked at each other and both gave a matching shrug.

Beckett looked up and saw that Gates was off the phone and was looking out her window, right at her desk and the people she didn't recognise sitting there.

Nodding towards the office Beckett stood and said, "Come on I'll introduce you to Gates and you can fill her in on your case."

They started walking towards the office but paused when they heard a ding and a whistle. They all turned and saw that Gibbs and McGee were getting out of the lift, closely followed by bubbly looking women with her black hair in pigtails.

"Hey Ziva," she said, running up and hugging her.

"Hey Abbs, can you let go now please, you saw me this morning."

Abby let go and Gibbs and McGee came to stand beside her.

From behind Beckett she heard the unmistakable sound of the captain's office door opening and then heard, "Detective Beckett, a word please."

Beckett sighed then turned and started to walk. When Castle made to follow she said, "Stay Castle, she's annoyed enough as it is."

Castle looked between Beckett and Gates and nodded.

Beckett walked past him and into the office. "What are those people doing in my precinct?" gates asked, shutting the door behind Beckett.

"Their NCIS special agents and they have an on-going case that has become our problem since their main suspect got shot."

Gates looked at her and then back out into the bullpen, "And what are they doing here? Federal agencies tend to want to keep their investigations within their own teams."

"Their team leader, Special Agent Gibbs is keeping this a joint investigation."

Gates scrutinised her for a moment before saying, "Well you'd better get them in here," then as an afterthought she added, "Your team as well please detective."

She nodded and went to the door and gestured for them all to come in. As they walked past her into the office she saw Esposito exit the lift and caught his attention before gesturing for him to get in there too.

Once Esposito was with the group and they were all in the office Beckett shut the door and made introductions. "These are Special Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo, David and McGee, and their forensic scientist," she stopped not sure how to go on since she really didn't want to introduce the Goth to her Captain as Abbs and Beckett actually had no idea what her name was.

"Abby Sciuto," the Goth replied happily.

Beckett nodded her thanks in her direction and got a huge smile in response.

Gates nodded to the NCIS team and then asked, "What case brought you here?"

The next few minutes Gibbs told Gates what they were doing here and what their case was about. After saying everything he had told Beckett at the scene he said, "We were planning on sending DiNozzo and David in undercover once we figured out which biker gang," he paused again and shot a quick look at Beckett before saying, "I was wondering if I could borrow Detective Beckett and Mr. Castle so they had some back up when we eventually figure out which gang."

Gates looked over at Beckett who nodded that she didn't mind then said, "Sure, but if I'm sending in my people I want them to know how your team fights."

Gibbs nodded, "While Ducky, Abby and your ME do their thing Ziva, Tony and Detective Beckett can get to know each other."

Gates nodded again and McGee looked at his boos, "What about us boss?"

"We'll work with Detectives Ryan and Esposito on the murder investigation."

Esposito nodded and Gates asked, "Speaking of Detective Ryan where is he?"

"Family emergency," Beckett lied swiftly, well half lied, Ryan was with his family but she didn't know if it was an emergency or not.

Gates studied her for a minute before she nodded and said, "Beckett, take Agents DiNozzo and David down to the gym." Beckett nodded and opened the door but before she could leave Gates said, "And Castle is not allowed to go unless he knows basic defence skills."

Beckett heard Castle take a breath to complain but gave him a sharp look and he nodded and walked out the room. Everyone else followed and made a bee line to Beckett's desk. Once their Beckett turned to Esposito, "You work the murder and fill in Ryan when he gets back." Esposito nodded and Beckett turned to Ziva and Tony, "Come on, I'll show you the gym." She started walking to the stairs then realising that Castle wasn't following turned back and said, "Castle, you coming?"

Castle stopped glaring at Gates closed office door and nodded.

Tony and Ziva made to follow her too but Gibbs stopped them and said, "Play nice you two."

The two agents smiled, "We'll try."

The four of them walked past Beckett's desk and made their way to the gym.

**I used google translate for the Russian so sorry if it's wrong. The translation should be something like this**

You speak Russian. That's cool. I haven't had a good practice in a while.  
You know Russian?  
Spent some time in Kiev when I was in school


	4. Chapter 4

**So here's chapter 4. Enjoy :)**

Once in the gym Beckett stripped off her shirt down to her tank top and dropped her gun and watch on top while Tony took off his jacket, shirt and gun. Ziva smiled and pulled her gun off her waist then bent down and unstrapped the holster from her ankle and then pulled the knife out of her belt. Seeing Castle's eyes on her she smiled at him and shrugged. Tony looked up and smiled at Ziva and then chuckled at Castle's face.

After putting all their stuff in a pile by the mats Beckett went and stood in the middle of them. Turning to Castle she said, "Come on Castle, you need to know the basics."

Castle huffed as he took off his jacket. Going to stand in front of Beckett he said, "I'll have you know detective that I do actually know some hand to hand."

"Oh?" Beckett said, striking out with her fist, just o test him.

He easily blocked it with his forearm and retaliated with a punch of his own, "Of course, writer remember. I like to know how to do what I'm having my characters do."

Beckett didn't answer just kicked his legs out from under him. He landed with a bang but quickly recovered and swiped Beckett's legs from under her too. She landed on top of him and he quickly flipped them, using his heavier body to pin her. Beckett relaxed for a minute then wrapped her leg around his and flipped them so she was straddling him and put her arm to his throat. After a few seconds spent breathing slightly heavier than normal Beckett stood and offered her hand to Castle, he took it and got to his feet. "Nice Castle, you've been holding out on us."

He shrugged, "I've got mad skills Beckett, you should know that by now."

She laughed and pushed him off the mat before turning to Tony, "Shall we," she questioned.

They spent ten minutes showing each other what they could do before Tony stepped back and turned to Ziva, "You're turn my little ninja."

She shook her head before walking past him and giving him a punch in the arm, "Get out of the way my little hairy butt."

Tony laughed and went to stand beside Castle and he whispered, "This should be good."

Tony was right. The two women had an unspoken agreement that they were going to go all out and not like what Beckett and Tony had done before. The two of them slowly circled each other then Ziva took the first step and swung her fist at Beckett, who blocked and kicked at Ziva's knee. She raised her leg and took the kick in the shin before stepping back and beginning to circle again.

The two went on like that for fifteen minutes, both going in and trying to land a hit but then stepping back after a few tries and continuing to circle. Ziva went in once more and kicked out Beckett grabbed her leg and overbalanced her. Ziva landed on her back on the floor but scissored her legs and brought Beckett down too.

The two of them lay panting on the floor and Beckett said, "Ok, time out. I think we've got the jist of each other's skills."

Ziva chuckled, "I'd say. You're good," she said standing and offering Beckett a hand, which she took, "I haven't had that much of a challenge in a long time."

Beckett smiled at her, "Thanks, but you would have had me if we went on any longer."

Ziva smiled and Tony came over, clapping, "I'm impressed, haven't seen any give Ziva a run for her money like that before."

"Thanks," Beckett said smiling, "I've had a lot of practice."

She walked over to where Castle saw holding her shirt and smiled, "Thanks Castle, but first I need a shower."

"Can I join you," he joked. Beckett glared at him and he said, "Or not."

Beckett shook her head and turned to Ziva, "I've got a change of clothes if you need them."

Ziva looked at her shirt and nodded, "If that's alright."

"Sure, come on." Beckett walked towards the changing rooms and lockers with Ziva following close behind. Once they reached the lockers Beckett quickly put her combination into the lock. Pulling open the door she threw the spare shirt she kept in there to Ziva and passed her one of the two tank tops, keeping the other one for herself.

She then went to the closet and pulled out two towels, passing one to Ziva and then walking past her to the shower.

Ten minutes later the two of them meet back at the lockers, each running a towel through their hair. Beckett pulled a comb out of her still unlocked locker and ran it through her hair before passing it to Ziva who smiled and quickly worked the knots out of her hair.

Throwing their towels into the laundry the two women walked back out to where Castle and Tony were talking about movies they'd liked. Beckett and Ziva glanced at each other and shook their heads, then snuck up behind their partners, "Boo," they both said at the same time and laughed as the two men jumped, Tony automatically going for the gun he had restrapped to his hip.

Castle glared at Beckett but then smiled at her and handed her the shirt he was still holding and her gun.

After Tony realised who was there he quickly relaxed and handed Ziva her guns and knife before saying, "You look nice Ziva, shirts suite you."

Castle and Beckett looked over and had to agree. Ziva was wearing the shirt open so you could see the tank underneath. Ziva studied Tony's face for a moment, to see if he was serious, then smiled and said, "Thanks Tony."

Beckett glanced at her father's watch, which she was in the process of strapping to her wrist, and asked, "Since you're agents I'm going to guess you can use a gun but I'm not sure we'll be able to conceal one if we're wearing leather," she paused for a moment then said, "Actually I know we won't be able to conceal them so there's no point in seeing how well you shoot."

Ziva and Tony nodded, but Castle asked, "Does that mean detective I'm finally going to see you straddling your bike in leather?"

"I don't know Castle, does it?" she teased.

He pouted. "Are you going to ride your bike?" he sounded like his normal nine year old on a sugar rush.

"No Castle, I was going to use a different one. Of course I'm using my bike and you're going to have to share with me."

Castle shook his head, "That's what you think."

Beckett wondered what the hell he was on about but before she could ask Tony asked, "You have a bike detective."

She turned to him, remembering that they were there, "Yeah, a 94 Harley softail."

"Now that is a sweet ride."

Beckett smiled, "Thanks." She turned back to Castle, "Explain your last comment please Castle."

He shook his head and then shouted, "Apples, apples," when she grabbed his ear and twisted. When she let go he said, "I have my own bike."

"Since when?" Beckett asked, not having heard this before.

"Since my first pay check," he replied smugly. Beckett raised her eyebrow and Castle hastily added, "It's a Suzuki GSF 250 Bandit."

Beckett nodded, "Looks like you're not riding with me then."

"I guess not." He smiled and she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face in response.

"So," Tony said, "Looks like we're the only ones who need bikes then."

Ziva shook her head, "Just you Tony."

"You cannot be telling me you have a bike in New York."

Ziva shook her head and Tony cocked his head to the side in question. Ziva sighed, "I've never ridden before," she said in a quiet voice.

Tony was silent for a few seconds as he processed what Ziva had just said then, with a big smile on his face, said, "Finally, something you can't do better than me."

Ziva punched him in the arm and as he rubbed it he said, "Well, Zee-vah, looks like you're riding with me."

"Great," Ziva said with an exasperated sigh.

Beckett smiled at the look on their faces and said, "Come on, we need to go get you a bike and leathers." She turned to Castle and asked, "I take it you have leathers?"

He nodded, "But I'm not sure if the trousers still fit so I'll wear jeans." He looked Tony up and down, "Although my spare jacket should fit DiNozzo so we won't have to sort that out for him, if he doesn't mind borrowing mine."

"That's no problem, thanks Castle."

Castle nodded and Beckett looked Ziva up and down and said, "The jeans you're wearing now should be fine and I have a spare jacket and a spare pair of boots if they'll fit."

Ziva nodded her thanks, "I appreciate it detective and I'm a seven."

Beckett smiled, "Looks like you're borrowing my boots then."

She looked at her watch again then began to walk back towards the stairs before Castle stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She turned back to him and he raised his hand and pulled the chain of her necklace, bringing the ring out of where it had been stuck down her back and placing it back against her chest.

"Thanks Castle, I hadn't realised."

He shrugged, "I haven't seen you wearing it in a while."

She took the ring between her fingers before dropping it inside her tank top, "I only wear it when I need to feel close to her."

Castle nodded and Beckett looked over his shoulder and saw the questions in the gazes of Tony and Ziva. "It was my mother's ring. I wear it for the life that I lost and this," she pointed at her watch, "For the life that I saved."

Tony nodded while Ziva absentmindedly fiddled with her own Star of David necklace, "I know the feeling," she said, pulling it out and saying, "I wear this to remember my sister."

Beckett gave her a smile and the two of them walked away. Tony and Castle looked at each other and Tony commented in a quiet voice, "Those two a similar but different at the same time."

Castle nodded, "Yeah, I see what you mean. They're both strong, independent women but their personalities seem so different." He saw Tony give him a look that clearly said he couldn't have read Ziva enough to know her personality. "I'm a writer, I read people for fun and I've got good at it through years of people watching."

Tony just shook his head and the two of them walked back towards the bullpen.

**I took a few liberties when it came to the characters but I do think that Beckett would hold her own against Ziva since she does train a lot and mostly with men.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5. Since my exams start on Wednesday the next update will either take a long time or will be up quickly, depending on how much I write in my revision breaks. Enjoy :)**

The four of them came to a stop by the murder board. Seeing that Ryan was back Beckett asked, "Jenny ok Ryan?"

Ryan, Esposito, Gibbs, McGee and Abby all turned towards them and Ryan nodded, "She's alright. Her Dad had a stroke so she's going up there for a few days and wanted to see me before she went."

Beckett nodded, "I hope he's ok."

"He should be fine, it was only a mild one," he glanced towards Gates office then back to Beckett, "Thanks for covering for me with the Captain."

Beckett nodded and turned to the others, "Any leads?"

"Ducky and Dr. Parish have started the autopsy and we should be getting results soon," Gibbs said.

"When we get the bullet I'm going to run ballistics since I can do it faster than your labs," Abby said, bouncing on her feet.

Tony looked her up and down and asked, "How many Caf-Pows have you had Abby?"

"A few," she said, taking a slurp out of the one in her hand.

Tony looked at McGee, "Only one in the time you've been gone but she had a few this morning."

Castle, Beckett, Esposito and Ryan all exchanged a look that clearly said they thought Abby was a little crazy.

"How did Ducky get here so quickly?" Ziva asked her boss.

"He had already landed when I rang him and he went straight to the morgue from the airport."

Ziva nodded but Tony asked, "How come he was already here?"

"Because he knew after the call we made last night about Sumner going missing he was probably going to need to be here."

"Ah," Tony said.

Beckett turned to Esposito, "Have you got a call from Lanie yet?"

As Esposito shook his head Beckett's phone chimed. She pulled it out and read the text, "Never mind Espo. She just text me."

Castle picked up her coat off the back of her chair and helped her into it, "We'll go see Lanie while you carry on here."

Ryan and Esposito nodded and Gibbs said, "Tony, Ziva go with them." The two of them nodded and the four of them walked to the lift.

Once in autopsy Lanie greeted Beckett with a "Hey girl," before she looked at Castle and said, "Writer boy."

"Hello to you too Lanie." He gestured to Ziva and Tony and said, "These are Agents Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David."

Lanie nodded a hello and then they heard a cheery English accent say, "Tony, Ziva."

"Ducky," Ziva answered with a smile. "Detective Beckett, Castle, I'd like you to meet Dr. Mallard. Ducky, Detective Kate Beckett and Richard Castle."

"Nice to meet you Dr. Mallard," Beckett said, shaking his hand.

"Please call me Ducky my dear."

Beckett smiled and turned to Lanie, "You cheered up yet Lanie? If not I'm sure Esposito will help you work it out."

Lanie glared at her and Beckett just smirked. "Your text said you had something."

Lanie glared a little longer then said, "We dug out the bullet. It punctured his heart and got lodged in his spine."

Ducky passed the plastic jar containing the bullet to Tony saying, "Abigail will need this when you see her again."

Tony took it and started to shake it so the bullet rattled. Ziva quickly picked up a scalpel and threw it in his direction. It whizzed past his ear and stuck in the notice board behind him.

Tony squeaked and stopped shaking the jar immediately. Beckett, Castle and Lanie all looked shocked but Ducky just shook his head and tutted, "Really Ziva."

She walked and pulled the scalpel out the board and handed it back to Lanie, who still looked shocked and then she turned to Ducky and said, "At least I didn't aim at him." She snatched the jar from Tony's hand, just to make sure that he didn't do it again, "And he should be glad it was a scalpel and not my normal knife."

Tony swallowed, then said in his normal cocky voice, "Told you she had mad ninja skills."

Castle and Beckett looked at each other and shook their heads. Whenever they went undercover it would be fun.

After getting some more information from the two ME's the four of them went back to the bull pen.

Once they got there Ziva gave Abby the bullet and she got to work using her extensive field kit, which she had set up in the conference room, to run ballistics.

Gates walked out of her office and came to a stop by the group. Turning to address Beckett she asked, "You sort out Castle?"

"He knew the basics already," she nodded.

Gates nodded, "Good. So how about the three of you? You get the general jist of each other's skills."

Beckett, Tony and Ziva all nodded and Ziva said, "Beckett is a credit to the NYPD, she fights well."

Gates nodded and then turned to Ryan and the others, "Have you found anything about which gang he was running for?"

Ryan and McGee quickly nodded and McGee began to speak, "His phone's memory card was slightly damaged but we got off all the contacts and we've run them."

Ryan took over and said, "Most of the numbers were marine numbers or numbers for friends and family. There was however one that is the landline for a known biker hang out." Ryan paused and Gates gestured for him to continue.

Esposito carried on from where Ryan had left off and said, "Bikers Rest," everyone who was hearing this for the first time raised their eyebrows, except Castle who just smiled and kept in a chuckle. "Yes it's the real name. The gang that runs it are one of the worst in the city and they defiantly don't talk to cops. If it's ok with you Captain we'd like to send in Beckett, Castle, David and DiNozzo in tomorrow evening."

"Fine by me as long as they've got a wire and we know where they are at all times," as she said this she threw a pointed look at Beckett and Castle, "And it's alright with Agent Gibbs." At Gibbs nod Gates continued, "I know you have a bike detective but what about the others, do we need to pull three out of the impound lot."

"No Sir, Castle has his own and Agent David can't ride so she's going with Agent DiNozzo, which means we only need the one."

Gates nodded then said, "Ok. Go pick up the bike tomorrow morning and spend some time getting Agents David and DiNozzo used to it. Keep me in the loop." She finished speaking and walked back to her office, shutting the door behind her.

"Dude, since when do you have a bike?" Esposito asked, turning to look at Castle.

Castle opened his mouth to answer but Beckett cut across him, "You give him the same answer you gave me and I'll have you screaming apples."

Castle nodded then said, "Since I brought one." He took one look at Beckett's face and took a step back. In a defensive tone he said, "That wasn't what I told you."

Beckett scowled then shook her head at Castle antics before saying, "Castle your nine year old is showing."

Castle pouted but didn't say anything.

Tony turned to McGee, "We finally found something that I can do better than Ziva."

McGee took one look at Ziva's face and wisely decided not to answer. Ziva turned to Tony, "Keep this up Tony and you won't be able to ride either, I know at least five ways to seriously injure you with a paper clip and another six ways to kill you."

Gibbs took a step and slapped them both in the back of the head. "Shutting up boss," Tony said, a smile still on his face.

Castle then exclaimed, "I've got a brilliant idea, don't look at me like that Beckett, sometimes my ideas are good ones, how about everyone comes back to the loft this evening, that way Tony and Ziva can pick up their jackets and we can all get to know each other better. I'll even cook."

Tony and Ziva agreed quickly and Castle looked over and Ryan and Esposito and said, "Bring Lanie too Esposito." The boys agreed then Castle turned his gaze to Gibbs, McGee and Abby, who had come out to join them while her kit did its thing. Abby agreed with a bubbly yes while McGee said it would give him a chance to ask about his work.

Everyone then turned their eyes to Gibbs, who still hadn't answered. "Come on Gibbs, you have to know, everyone else is going."

Gibbs looked at Abby's pleading eyes and nodded.

Castle smiled then said, "Oh and bring Ducky along too, the more the merrier." He turned to Beckett, "See, I do have good ideas occasionally." Beckett just shook her head and went and sat at her desk. Castle went and got coffee for the two of them while everyone went back to what they were doing before, Ziva and Tony going into the conference room to see if they could find anything else out.

**So the next chapter will be dinner at the loft.**


	6. Chapter 6

Eight hours and no ballistic match later the detectives and agents decided to call it a night. Picking up their stuff Castle said, "I'll see you at mine in an hour," he handed Gibbs a piece of paper with his address on, "I'll tell the door man you're coming and he'll sort you out with what floor."

Gibbs nodded his thanks and he and his team left to return to their hotel and clean up before going to Castle's later.

After watching them leave Castle turned to Beckett, "So Beckett, you looking forward to tonight?"

"Don't know Castle, I never did say I was going," she said in a serious tone.

Castle's face dropped slightly and Beckett actually felt a little bad, "Of course I'm coming Castle."

His face lit up again then he stood and grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. "See you in an hour Beckett."

Beckett smiled, "See you Castle."

An hour later there was a knock at the door, Castle went and opened it and was greeted by the sight of the 12th precinct detectives and the NCIS agents all standing and chatting. Smiling Castle opened the door further and stepped back to let them all in. after taking their coats and hanging them over the stair rail there was Castle turned back to the group but before he could say anything they all heard, "Guests Richard?"

Beckett smiled at the older women, "Hello Martha."

"Hey Mrs. Rogers," Esposito and Ryan said together.

"Kate my dear. Hello detectives," Martha said, walking down the stairs, "So Richard who are all these people?"

Behind Castle, Tony whispered to Ziva, "Red head alert." Ziva smiled then put her fingers on her lips, telling him to shush.

"Mother, I'd like you to meet forensic scientist Abby Sciuto and ME Dr. Mallard, or Ducky. And these are special agents Tony DiNozzo, Ziva David, Tim McGee and…"

Martha cut across him, "Hello Jethro. Long-time no see."

"Agent Gibbs," Castle finished lamely.

Tony, Ziva and McGee all looked at each other and Ziva raised her eyebrow.

Martha walked over to Gibbs and stood in front of him, "How are Shannon and Kelly?"

The three agents shared anther look but this time it was a look of shock.

"Dead," Gibbs answered in a flat voice.

"Jethro, I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She then showed considerable restraint and instead of hugging him simply reached out and squeezed his shoulder.

"It was a long time ago Martha," he looked at Castle, "I didn't realise he was your son."

Martha smiled, "He decided that Rogers wasn't a very authory name."

"Authory, mother is that even a word?" Castle asked, his gaze switching between the two older people.

Martha shrugged, "If it wasn't it is now."

Beckett smiled at the banter that was so Castle and Martha, then asked the question everyone wanted the answer to, "How do you two know each other?"

Tony, Ziva, McGee and Abby all listened with interest while Esposito and Ryan made themselves comfortable on the sofa and Ducky sat on the chair.

"Most have been what, twenty three years ago," Martha said, when Gibbs nodded she continued, "Kelly must have been about five and they watched a play I was in and after Kelly wandered off and ended up in my dressing room. She was a lovely little girl and she talked and talked until Jethro and Shannon found her. We got to talking and ended up going out for a meal the next night. I kept in touch for a year or so but then we just sort of grew apart and stopped writing."

Castle face suddenly lit up, "I remember that meal, I was on my best behaviour, right up until the waiter tripped and I couldn't stop laughing."

Gibbs smiled, "Yeah and Kelly couldn't stop giggling."

Taking a closer look at Gibbs' face Martha saw that he looked sad and turned to Castle, "Are you cooking Richard." He nodded and she smiled at Gibbs, "We'll I'll sort that out and you can entertain. Care to join me Gibbs, we have a lot of catching up to do."

Castle nodded, "Thanks mother, Gibbs can make sure you don't give us all sodium poisoning."

Martha shook her head then she and Gibbs quickly walked over to the kitchen and began talking quietly between themselves.

Castle watched them go then turned to the rest of the people gathered, "Well that was different."

Beckett smiled, "I'm surprised that Martha didn't hug him to death honestly."

Castle looked at her and smiled then turning to the rest of the group asked, "What does everyone want to drink? I've got wine, beer, water, soda." After getting everyone's order he walked into the kitchen to get it all.

Lanie sat on the sofa next to Esposito and Beckett sat on the arm next to her. Tony offered the other chair to Ziva but she refused and sat on the arm. Abby and McGee stood for a moment longer then made themselves comfortable on the floor, leaning back against Ducky's chair. Turning to Beckett Lanie said, "So Esposito tells me that you're going undercover in a biker gang tomorrow."

Beckett nodded then turned to Ziva, "Oh that reminds me," she stood and went to the door and after picking up the bag she had left with her coat she came back and handed the bag to Ziva, "Jacket and boots."

Ziva nodded her thanks and opened the bag, she pulled out the jacket and put the bag and the boots on the floor in front of her. She stood and put on the jacket before turning to Beckett and asking, "This is a well fit?"

"It's meant to be a good fit Ziva, and yes it looks good, you look good," Tony said, smiling at her.

She blushed slightly then looked at Beckett, who nodded. "Looks good Ziva."

Castle then came back with the drinks and saw her and smiled, "Suits you Ziva." Castle looked over at Tony, "I'll go get yours, just give me a sec." After handing out the drinks Castle went into his room and returned a few minutes later and tossed Tony a leather jacket.

Tony quickly stood and tried it on. Turning he asked, "What do ya think?"

Abby wolf whistled and Tony took a bow, "Thank you, thank you."

Ziva shook her head and took off her jacket, putting it back into the bag. Tony smiled and then asked, "Can I put this in their too?" he asked, pulling of the jacket. Ziva nodded and Tony shoved it in on top. "Thanks Castle."

"Thanks Beckett."

The writer and muse nodded.

Beckett turned back to Lanie and apologised, "Sorry Lanie, you were saying?"

Lanie smiled, "You are aware that if you want to fit in with the bikers you're going to have to be a lot more touchy feely than you normally are."

"Touchy feely Lanie?" Beckett questioned.

"Oh you know. That biker case a couple of years ago, remember you told me how they threw themselves at each other."

Lanie's smile got wider as she saw the cogs turning in Beckett's head and the quick glance she threw at Castle. Lanie turned to Ziva and Tony, "That goes for you two too."

Tony and Ziva looked at each other then Ziva smiled, "We should be fine, we've been married before."

Tony laughed at the faces looking at the two of them, "We were undercover, not actually married."

Lanie shook her head and turned back to Beckett, "Those two should be fine, you and Castle not so much. The only other time you've got close was when you kissed to distract that guard when you were saving the boys." Beckett's eyes widened and Lanie clamped her hand over her mouth, "I wasn't meant to say that."

Esposito and Ryan gave each other a look and then at the same time said, "You two kissed!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to everyone who has added this to their story alerts or ****favorites. **

**The actually undercover part should start in the next few chapters but first I'm going to have a bit more fun with the build up :)**

Beckett and Castle looked at each other, and Castle could see that Beckett's eyes were full of panic. There had been a reason they hadn't told the guys about how they distracted the guard to come in and get them, Beckett had been with Josh at the time and talking about it would have made it real and complicated their partnership.

Beckett threw a quick look around the room. In the kitchen Martha and Gibbs were still working on the food but they weren't talking and Beckett could tell that Martha at least was listening to what was going on. Abby, McGee, Ducky, Ziva and Tony were all watching them with interest, obviously wondering why this was such a big deal and what the two of them were going to say.

Beckett glanced back at Castle then, after giving Lanie a quick glare, turned to the boys and said, "Yes we kissed, problem with that? It did save your lives."

Ryan and Esposito looked slightly shocked and out of the corner of her eye she could see that Castle saw smirking.

"No Beckett, that's fine," Esposito said, recovering faster than Ryan. He smiled then turned to Lanie, "So does that count as a win on the bets or not?"

Beckett growled then Ryan asked, "Hang on; during on that case weren't you with Josh?"

Beckett scowled, "Now do you see why we didn't tell you."

Ryan and Esposito nodded then in a stage whisper said, "Looks like mom and dad are closer than we thought."

The NCIS team all laughed along with Ryan, Esposito, Lanie and Martha, while Beckett glared at Ryan and Esposito, giving them a look that she normally saved for uncooperative suspects.

They all stopped when they heard the door open and a voice say, "Dad, you here? Oh hi," Alexis said, turning and seeing the group of people gathered in the loft.

"Hey pumpkin," Castle said, walking over and hugging his daughter, "Good day with Paige."

Alexis nodded, "Hey Beckett, Lanie, Espo, Ryan and Grams."

"Hey kiddo," Martha replied from the kitchen.

"Hey Alexis," Beckett said, "And what have I told you about calling me Beckett?"

Alexis smiled, "Not to Kate." She turned back to her father, raising her eyebrows in question.

Castle smiled, "Alexis I'd like you to meet, NCIS Special Agents, Tony DiNozzo, Ziva David, Timothy McGee and Gibbs." As he spoke he pointed them out and Alexis gave them all a smile. Castle continued, "ME Dr Mallard."

Ducky nodded, "Call me Ducky please."

Alexis smiled back and Castle continued, "And their forensic scientist Abby Sciuto."

Abby waved and Alexis smiled again before saying, "I love your plaits."

"Thanks," Abby said beaming.

Alexis looked around then back at her father, "I've got some work to do so can you call me when Grams is ready to poison us?"

Castle smiled and nodded while Martha stood in the kitchen and said, "Hey, anyway if anyone is going to poison us its Jethro, he's in charge of the salt."

Alexis threw a questioning glance at Castle who shrugged and said, "I'll explain later."

Alexis kissed him on the cheek and then made her way up the stairs and into her room but as she got to the door she turned and said, "Dad next time you kiss Kate, make it count." She walked into her room and shut the door leaving a speechless Castle, a blushing Beckett and everyone else in stiches.

Looking at Beckett, Lanie said, "As I was saying, before I put my foot in my mouth."

"Got that right," Beckett grumbled under her breath.

Lanie gave her an a apologetic look before continuing, "As I was saying, the two of you are going to have to act like a proper couple, that means calling each other Kate and Rick, not Beckett and Castle, and it means you're going to have to kiss and hug and do all the things I know you hate when the other one is doing it with someone else."

Castle and Beckett looked at each other then quickly looked away, Beckett remembering how she had felt when Castle had left for the summer with Gina and Castle remembering all the time he'd seen her with Sorenson, Demming and Dr Motorcycle Boy.

"Thought so," Lanie said, seeing their faces.

"The point Lanie?" Beckett asked, wringing her hands together.

"The point Kate," Lanie said, "Is that starting now, the two of you," she glanced at Tony and Ziva, "And the two of you," she looked back at Beckett and Castle, "Need to start acting like a couple so you have a bit of practice for tomorrow."

Tony and Ziva looked at each other quickly and Tony patted his lap. Ziva threw a quick glance at Gibbs, who nodded slightly and Ziva slipped off the arm and onto Tony's waiting lap. She shifted slightly to get comfortable and then when she stopped moving Tony wrapped his arms around her waist. Ziva sat stiffly for a moment, before relaxing into him, loving the feel of him around her.

Beckett and Castle glanced at each other and shared a knowing look, the two of them could see just how comfortable Ziva and Tony were with each other and how much they meant to each other just by watching the way that Tony had his arms protectively round her waist and how she was leaning back into him. Beckett then looked at Lanie, who was watching the two partners expectantly.

Castle smiled then bent and whispered in Beckett's ear, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Beckett looked him in the eye, wondering what he wanted to talk about then, after a quick look at a smirking Lanie nodded and stood. Castle walked towards his office, Beckett following behind. Once in the office Beckett opened her mouth to ask what was up but Castle put a finger to his lips and shut the door before turning and walking into his bedroom. Wondering what the hell he could possible want to talk about and where the hell he was planning on talking to her Beckett followed slowly. She walked into his bedroom and looked around. His room was simple and his bed massive and Beckett deduced that it was probably impossibly soft. Raising her eyebrow, asking if she could talk yet, she looked at Castle once more. Shaking his head Castle walked to the wall opposite the door that led back into the lounge and pushed on one side of the bookshelf that stood there.

Beckett opened her mouth to ask what the hell he was doing but then shut it again when the bookshelf swung on a central pivot revealing a room behind.

"Shut the front door, you actually have a secret lair."

Castle looked at her and gave her a million watt smile. He stepped to the side and waved her through. Once she had passed him he pushed the bookshelf back into place.

She looked around the room and smiled. It was simpler than Beckett would have expected but she could tell that it was a room for Castle and Castle alone.

She walked over and sat on the sofa, looking around as she went. From where she was sitting she could see a bookshelf covered in comic books and from what she could see a load of action figures. She shook her head and looked at him, "So Castle, two questions, one, what did you want to talk to me about and two, why did you bring us in here?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it took so long but I've been away. Thanks to anyone and everyone whose favorited or altered my story. Enjoy chapter 8.**

Castle stood for a moment longer then sat down next to her. Positioning his body so that his knees were nearly touching hers he said, "I brought you in here so that the others wouldn't hear what I'm about to ask, you and I both know that, at the very least, Lanie would be listening at the door."

Beckett nodded, understanding the logic in his assumption especially after what they had all been talking about in the lounge, "So what did you want to ask?"

Castle paused for a moment, getting his thoughts in order, before saying, in a low voice, "If you're uncomfortable with what we've got to do, I can say that I need to do some book stuff and you can just go with Ziva and Tony."

Beckett stared at him for a moment, clearly shocked by what he had just said. She didn't know what she had been expecting but this was definitely was not it. Looking at him now Beckett realised just how much Castle actually meant to her and how far he would go to see her comfortable and happy. Shaking her head she smiled, "No Castle, it's fine, you're my partner and partners go in together."

Castle smiled and asked, "Are you sure."

Beckett nodded, "Absolutely positive," then as an afterthought she added, "I need someone to watch my back."

Castle's face split into a million watt grin and Beckett couldn't help but grin in return.

Beckett stood and pulled Castle up behind her, "Come on, we should go back to the others before they wonder what we're doing in here that's taking so long."

Castle smiled and led her to the door. Opening it again he stepped through before moving to the side and letting Beckett past. Once she was clear he pushed against the side of the bookshelf, swinging it shut. He turned back to Beckett and, with a smirk on his face, said, "I'm glad you said I could come Beckett, I can't wait to see you in your leather." He walked past her and almost made it to the door of his room before she grabbed his ear and twisted. "Apples, apples."

**Meanwhile, in the lounge**

Lanie, Ryan and Esposito watched Beckett and Castle leave with interest, "Wonder what writer boy wants," Lanie said quietly.

Esposito looked at her and shook his head, "We all know that in a few minutes you're going to go and put your ear to the door Lanie."

She glared at him, "Funny Javi."

He shrugged, and Ryan said, "Come on Lanie, give it a few more seconds and you're going to walk over to that door and listen."

Lanie scowled and honestly tried to stay seated and look like she couldn't care less what Castle wanted to talk to her best friend about. She lasted a minute before she stood and hurried over to the door.

"Told you," Esposito said, smiling. Ryan chuckled. The NCIS team just watched, amusement clear on their faces.

Putting her ear to the door Lanie listened, then turning back to the group said, "I can't hear anything."

From the kitchen Martha said, "Open the door Dr Parish and you'll see why."

Hesitantly Lanie pushed open the door and peaked in, "They're not here." Esposito and Ryan looked at each other and stood up, going over to stand either side of her.

"Of course not dear," Martha said, leaving the kitchen and walking over to the trio, "The walls are book cases and we would be able to hear every word they said."

Tony and Ziva stood up and walked over, now both wondering where there two new colleges had gone. Seeing the door to Castle's room Ziva nodded towards it, "What about in there?"

Lanie walked over and put her ear to this door too. Turning back she shook her head, "Not here either."

Not believing her, since there was nowhere else for them to go, Esposito walked over and pushed the door open. They were meet by an empty room.

Walking back to the kitchen, where Gibbs was watching the proceedings with a small smile on his face, Martha said, "You may as well give up, you won't find them."

With a sigh the five of them went back to their seats. "Ok, so where in the hell have they gone?" Lanie asked, "It's like they've disappeared off the face of the planet. There are no more rooms that they could be in."

"Maybe they got abducted by aliens," Ryan said jokingly.

"Yeah sure Castle Jr," Esposito said, smiling at his partner.

Tony and Ziva settled back into their seat, sitting, if possible, even close together than before.

"Maybe Beckett pushed him out the window," Martha said, with a smile, "He can be annoying at times."

The city employees laughed. Turning to Ryan Esposito said, "How much do you want to bet that the two of them come out of there hand in hand, having finally figured it out?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of how pissed Beckett looks and how sheepish writer monkey is," Ryan said with a smile.

"I'm in," Lanie said, "Twenty says Beckett comes out looking like she had a bad interrogation and Castle comes out looking pale and nervous."

"You're on Lanie," Ryan said.

"What do you think their talking about?" Tony asked after a few seconds silence.

Lanie shrugged, "Knowing them two it could be anything, although it's probably nothing of any importance since their not dying."

Ziva tilted her head to the side and Abby asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Just that Dad and Kate never talk about anything with any real importance to them unless they're about to die," a voice from the stairs said. Everyone looked and smiled when they saw Alexis walking towards them, holding a text book. "Anybody know where he is?"

Before anyone could answer and say that he'd disappeared they heard the unmistakable sound of Castle saying, "Apples, apples."

Shaking her head Alexis smiled, "I think he's being annoying as ever."

"Hey, I resent that," Castle said, opening his bedroom door and coming out followed by a smiling Beckett, "Am I annoying?"

Beckett just raised her eyebrow and walked past him, shaking her head. Turning to the others seated he asked, "Am I really that annoying?" he had an innocent look on his face.

"Castle, if you weren't being annoying we'd send you to a doctor since you'd probably be ill," Ryan stated.

"I invite you all over and this is how you repay me," Castle said, mock hurt in his voice, "I'm offended."

"We only say it cause it's true Castle," Beckett said smiling.

Castle smiled at her, unable to help himself, before moving to sit on the arm of the sofa, the spot that Beckett had previously been occupying. Spreading his legs he patted the space between them, looking at Beckett.

Sighing Beckett went over and sat between them, leaning back into Castle to give herself more room.

Castle shifted his legs slightly, so that they were pressed against her sides then turned to his daughter. "What's up Alexis?"

Taking in the sight of Kate looking quite comfortable between her dads legs she said, "I was hoping you could come and give me a quick hand, my laptop just crashed and the normal stuff isn't working."

"I'll help," Abby said, jumping to her feet, "Come Mr MIT," she dragged Tim to his feet, "My butt is going to sleep."

Alexis hesitated for a moment then gave the goth a warm smile, "Thanks."

The NCIS agent and bubbly scientist followed the teenager up the stairs and into her room. Watching them go Tony laughed, "I think that's the longest I've ever seen Abby sit quietly for."

Ziva nodded, "And the stillest too."

**Please push the little blue button and give me a review. I'm starting to think that this story is so crap no one actually thinks it's worth a review. :(**


	9. Chapter 9

**I hope you like this chapter, although I feel a little bad about writing it since I have an exam tomorrow and I should probably be revising, but oh well.**

**So here's chapter 9. Enjoy :)**

"So where did you two disappear to?" Tony asked, looking at the partners.

Beckett caught Castle's eye and he smiled before saying, in a stage whisper, "Told you they'd listen at the door."

She elbowed him lightly in the stomach, "Don't be smug Rick, it doesn't suit you." She looked between Lanie, Esposito, Ryan, Tony and Ziva said, a smirk on her face, "Where we were is for us to know and you to never find out."

"Yep," Castle said, "You're never going to find out."

"Richard," Martha chided from the kitchen.

"Mother," Castle answered in the same tone he had taken when Beckett had first met them at the precinct after they had bailed him out.

Martha shock her head, "Call Alexis, we're done." She flashed Gibbs a smile and pulled out some plates and dishes to put the food in.

Everyone stood, although Ziva noted that Beckett did it somewhat reluctantly and Beckett saw that Ziva would have rather have stayed sat on Tony lap.

As everyone moved over to the kitchen to get some food Castle went to the bottom of the stairs, "Alexis, food."

The group down stairs heard a muffled, "Coming," before Alexis, a bouncing Abby and McGee all came down the stairs.

Pulling his daughter to his side and giving her a kiss on the top of her head Castle asked, "All sorted?"

She nodded, "Thanks to those two it's all good." She smiled at Abby and McGee before going over to help Martha and Gibbs dish everyone up some food.

"How about some music while we eat," Castle said, making his way to the sound system that stood by the TV. He pulled out his phone and plugged it in before putting his music on shuffle and pressing play.

The first song that came on was, "Seriously Castle, You Talk too Much."

Castle gave Beckett a winning smile, "Hey, it's our song," he shrugged.

Beckett shook her head, "I was joking you know."

Castle shrugged again, then seeing the looks everyone was giving them he said, "A few years ago we were joking around about Alexis and her boyfriend having a song and it turns out we have a song."

"Yeah Castle, You Talk Too Much defiantly fits with you," Beckett said, smirking.

Castle stuck his tongue out at her and said, "Shush women, I'm hungry."

Beckett shook her head, and turned back to the kitchen counter and grabbed a plate, "Well then get something to eat."

All of them laughed and got to eating the mountain of food Gibbs and Martha had prepared.

Beckett and Ziva sat next to each other on the sofa and Lanie next to them while Tony and Castle leaned against their 'girlfriends' legs, getting used to the close proximity and proving to Lanie that they could do it. Esposito sat down on the arm beside Lanie while Ryan took the arm beside Beckett. Ducky sat back in the seat he had just vacated while Alexis sat on the other one, McGee and Abby sitting on the arms, all three talking quietly together, confusing anybody who tried to listen in. Martha and Gibbs pulled up chairs from the dining table and they all ate, occasionally telling funny stories about cases of Martha past as an actress.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about anything and everything until Gibbs stood and said, "We've got work to do tomorrow, time to go."

Everyone stood and got ready to go and Beckett said, "Tony, Ziva and Castle, come in tomorrow in whatever you're wearing on the bike so we can get the two of you sorted," she nodded at Ziva and Tony.

Now that they were all standing by the door, all ready to go, Lanie said, "Do one thing for me will you, all four of you," she said, looking at Ziva, Tony, Castle and Beckett, "I just want to see if you can actually pull off a kiss."

Tony looked at Gibbs and said, "Boss?"

Gibbs nodded, "It's for a cover, go ahead."

Tony looked at Ziva and said, "Think you can manage to contain yourself Zivaaa?"

She glared at him, "I don't know Tony, think you can?"

They smiled at each other then moved closer and joined hands before kissing each other, being soft yet forceful at the same time. Breaking away after a few seconds and then stepping back, both smiling lightly at each other, Ziva looking slightly flushed. Abby squealed then stopped when Tony glared at her.

Lanie smiled lightly then turned to Beckett and Castle, "Your turn."

They looked at each other then Beckett shrugged, and said in a low voice, "We've done it before Castle, no biggy."

Castle nodded and gently tilted her chin and kissed her. The kiss quickly became faster paced although they kept their tongues to themselves, which was just as well as they heard someone clear their throat and quickly broke apart, both breathing hard.

Beckett looked around at the people watching them, Lanie, Esposito, Ryan and Alexis all had their mouths hanging open while Martha, Gibbs and Ducky all shared a look and smiled knowingly. Tony and Ziva were watching the two of them, still smiling slightly and both feeling slightly jealous that they had had such a heated kiss while they had kept it light. Abby had a grin covering her face while McGee just looked embarrassed.

"I… um…" Beckett stuttered, blushing furiously. She took one last look at Castle, who was currently finding his shoes very interesting, before turning and opening the door and leaving. "I'll see you all tomorrow," she muttered, going quickly to the stairs, not wanting to have to wait for the lift, and wanting to get out of everyone's eye sight as quickly as possible.

Lanie watched her go then looked at Castle, smirked and said, "Thanks for tonight Castle," before turning to Esposito, "I'm gonna need a ride to Kate's Javi."

He raised an eyebrow and Lanie said, "She ran down the stairs and has her bike, she's long gone."

Esposito nodded and turned to Ryan, "Come on bro, I'm your lift home too," before looking at Castle, and giving him the same smirk Lanie had, said, "See you tomorrow writer-boy."

Ryan nodded and said a quick thanks too, a smirk on his face as well, before the three of them headed to catch the lift. The NCIS team all smiled at Castle too and all left quickly, catching the same lift as Lanie and the boys, each saying their own thank you as they walked past him.

As he shut the door, his mother and daughter gave him a knowing look, which he ignored and went straight to his bed.

Lying down fully clothed, his fingers tracing his still tingling lips before quickly falling asleep, the memory of the kiss playing over and over in his head.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok so it's been a while but here's the next chapter. I hope you like it. :)**

**Ok quick note, I had to repost the chapter since I read through and realised that I'd made more mistakes than I normally would.**

The next morning saw Beckett sat at her desk, her jacket over the back of her chair and her head resting on her arms. She hadn't slept much the night before, she had been thinking about the kiss so much and since she had a spare minute now, waiting for the others to arrive she was resting her eyes. Well she was until the thumb of a coffee cup being put on her desk made her sit up again. She picked up the cup without looking at the man who she knew had given it to her. After taking a mouthful she slowly raised her gaze and saw that Castle was sitting on his chair, playing on his phone, not looking at her. She smiled, she should have realised that he wasn't going to mention it, they were both the same, never saying anything that mattered, unless it was a life or death situation.

She looked around the precinct and noticed that there were people in the conference room. She stood and tapped Castle on the shoulder and nodded towards the room. Castle followed her gaze then stood and followed her as she walked in.

Everyone in the room looked up when they head the door open. "Nice sleep Beckett?" Esposito teased.

She glared at him, "I wasn't asleep, I was resting my eyes."

Esposito and Ryan both raised their eyebrows, not believing her but not saying anything more on the subject. Beckett looked around the room and when her gaze landed on Tony she asked, "We ready to go get your bike?"

He shook his head, "Not yet, we're just waiting for Ziva, she went for a run and isn't here yet."

Beckett nodded, "Ok." She then clicked her fingers and asked, "We can get down there fine since we can all share mine and Castle's bikes but you two will need helmets."

"I like the sound of a helmet if I am sharing a bike with Tony," Ziva said coming into the room.

"Yep," Gibbs said following her in, "I think that might be a good idea."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence guys, but at least you don't need helmets when I'm driving a normal car," he threw a pointed look at Ziva.

"There is nothing wrong with my driving," Ziva snapped at him.

Beckett, Castle and everyone else in the room watched the two of them arguing.

"There's nothing wrong with your driving if you want to die," Tony smirked.

Gibbs smacked the backs of the both of their heads, "Not now you two. Go get your bike."

They both replied yes boss, yes Gibbs, then looked at Beckett and Castle.

Beckett smiled, "So, helmets. I've got my spare one in my desk but we still need one more."

There was a knock at the door then Alexis walked in. "No we don't," Castle said, taking the helmet of his daughter.

"Here dad, and Grams told me to tell you not to show off and hurt yourself, you know what happened last time."

Castle huffed then asked his daughter, "You alright to get home when you're finished in the morgue?"

Alexis nodded, "Yeah I'll get a cab." She saw the look on her father's face and sighed, "Fine, I'll call the car."

Castle nodded, "Good." He pulled his daughter into a hug, "Now go be brilliant."

He began chivvying her towards the door but before she went through the door she turned and said, "By the way Kate, Special Agent David, you both look really good."

Beckett smiled at her, "Thanks Alexis."

Alexis smiled then looked at her father, "I'll see you later dad, just don't fall off again ok."

Castle kissed her on the top of her head and she left. Then he turned back to the group and looked at Beckett and Ziva for the first time. Alexis was right, the jacket fitted Ziva perfectly, showing off her figure while Beckett just looked plain amazing in her leather trousers. Castle smiled, "And even your boots have a heel."

Beckett shrugged, "I can run in higher so why would I lose them for a bike?"

Castle smiled then handed the helmet the Ziva, "Your head is smaller so this will be a better fit for you than Tony."

Ziva smiled at him, "Toda."

"So Beckett, I rather think I can handle you on your bike wearing that," Castle smirked at her then ducked when her hand came out to grab his ear. "Ha, you missed," he teased. Beckett's other hand came up and pinched his ear, "Ow, ow, ow, or not." Beckett let go and Castle rubbed his ear while Esposito and Ryan laughed at the two of them.

"Come on man, you should know by now you can't beat Beckett," Esposito pointed out.

Castle shrugged, "I'm a slow learner."

Beckett shook her head and looked at Tony and Ziva, both of whom were smirking, "Shall we?"

They both nodded and the four of them made to walk out of the room but Gibbs stopped them. "Behave the two of you and Tony don't annoy Ziva too much." He looked them up and down then added, "When you get back I want your gun and knifes, I can see all of them."

Ziva looked down and realised he was right, the gun on her ankle was a noticeable bulge and the knife at her waist was outlined by her tight jeans. Gibbs looked at Tony's face then said, "I change my mind, both of you hand them over now, before the detectives end up investigation one of your murders."

Both Tony and Ziva sighed and handed Gibbs their concealed weapons, but keeping their service pieces. When Ryan and Esposito saw Ziva pull the gun on her ankle and then the knives out of her belt and other boot whistled in admiration.

Ziva looked at them and smiled lightly, "Old habit." Both detectives had a questioning look on their faces and Ziva explained, "I used to be Mossad."

Both men nodded in understanding and Tony smiled, "Come on my little ninja, give your guns to Gibbs so we can go get a bike." He sounded so childlike and happy Ziva shook her head and handed her gun and knives to Gibbs who nodded and put them on the table.

"You can have them back after the undercover assignment."

Ziva nodded and the four of them made their way out of the room and towards the elevator, Beckett making a quick stop at her desk to throw the spare helmet she kept in her desk to Tony. He caught it and smiled his thanks.

"Have fun," Esposito called after them, "And try to contain your excitement about seeing Beckett on her bike Castle."

Beckett glared at them while Castle just smirked. The four got onto the lift and went down to the underground parking garage.


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok so this is the longest chapter so far and is probably going to be the last for a while since I've run out of ideas but as soon as I get some more I'll continue it. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited this story.**

**I hope you like this chapter :)**

They made their way over to where two bikes were parked and all four of them stopped and looked at them. Beckett stood there and looked at Castle's bike, "I'm impressed Castle, it looks almost brand new."

He shrugged, "It was my pride and joy when I brought it and then it was put into storage at the loft so it's been looked after."

Beckett nodded then looked at Tony and Ziva, "How do you want to do this?"

The two agents shrugged, "We honestly don't mind."

Beckett thought for a moment then looked at Ziva, "You've never been on a bike."

Ziva nodded, "Tali was on one when she was killed so I refused my father when he tried to get me to learn."

Beckett nodded and then Tony turned to his partner and asked in a concerned voice, "Are you sure you're going to be ok Zi? We can go without you."

Ziva shook her head and rested her hand on his arm. She looked him in the eye and said, "I'll be fine Tony, as long as you've got my back I'll be fine."

Tony nodded, "Of course Ziva, I've always got your back."

Beckett watched them for a few seconds more before she cleared her throat. The two agents looked at her and she smiled, "How about Ziva rides with me to the impound lot, I've been riding longer than Rick and I'm used to taking passengers."

Ziva and Tony both nodded and Ziva looked incredibly thankful. Beckett smiled and moved to her bike and pulled out her helmet. Castle then watched as she gracefully threw her leg over and got seated, he quickly pulled out his phone and took a picture before turning to his own bike. Over his shoulder Beckett said, "I saw that Castle, you better delete it." She went back to her normal name for him, not carrying about their cover for the minute.

Castle shook his head as he too pulled out his half shell helmet. "Not a chance detective. I think I just found my new caller ID."

Beckett shook her head but didn't say anything, just looked at Ziva and gave the Israeli a reassuring smile, "You'll be fine Ziva, I promise I won't go as fast as I normally do until you get used to the bike."

Ziva nodded then got onto the bike behind Beckett. Tony watched her for a moment, making sure she was comfortable before he got on behind Castle.

Beckett looked over at Castle, "Do you know where we're going Rick?"

Castle shook his head, "Not really, I was just going to follow you."

Beckett nodded and pulled on her helmet, gesturing for the others to do the same. Once everyone had their helmet's on Beckett looked at Ziva once more and smiled again, "You'll be fine, just hold on."

Ziva nodded and put her arms around Beckett's middle as the detective started the bike and slowly made her way out of the garage. Castle watched them go then turned to look at Tony. "You care about her," he stated.

"By the looks of it I feel the same way about her as you do about Detective Beckett," Tony replied.

Both men were silent for a moment then Castle said, "Loving a woman who we can't be with, never a good idea."

Tony shook his head then looked over to where Beckett was slowly driving around the parking lot, getting Ziva used to the bike before they went out on the road. "I don't know how I feel about her. I hate to see her hurting but I can't be with her and I know that so I honestly don't know what to do."

Castle cocked his head to the side, "Why? Why can't you be with her?"

Tony shrugged, "Rule 12." Castle gave him a puzzled look and Tony clarified, "Gibbs has rules and rule 12 is not to date a co-worker."

Castle thought for a moment then said, "Is loving someone really dating? If you love someone the way that I think you love Ziva I don't think Gibbs is going to be able to stop the inevitable."

Tony smiled then looked back at the other bike, "What about you and the detective? What's stopping you?"

Castle sighed, "It's complicated. She says that ever since her mother died she has a wall inside and she can't have the kind of relationship she wants until it's down."

Tony nodded then asked, "How will you know when the wall is down? Why don't you just tell her?"

Castle shook his head, "I did, but she says she doesn't remember." He sighed when he saw the questioning look on the agents face, "When she was shot last summer I told her while she was lying on the ground. I thought it was my last chance and I couldn't let her die without at least telling her how I felt once."

Tony nodded sadly, "How do you mean she says she doesn't remember?"

Castle shrugged, "I think she remembers what I said but I can't be sure, otherwise why else would she have told me about the wall and looked like she was about to kiss me in the bank." He sighed again, "But then I'm keeping something from her too." He looked at Tony, "And I have no clue why I'm telling you this."

Tony shrugged, "Maybe you just need to get it off your chest and since I'll be leaving soon you can trust me not to tell anyone."

Castle nodded, "That could be right." He threw a quick glance over at Beckett and Ziva, who had now stopped and were talking quietly about something, then turned back to Tony, "After she was shot a man called me, told me he was a friend of Montgomery's and that he had made a deal with the people who were trying to kill Kate. If I could keep her away from her mother's case he could keep her safe since he had blackmail material on the people behind the whole thing."

"And you can't tell her what you've done since she can't know or she'll dive back into the case and try to get what you know to lead somewhere."

Castle nodded, "That's exactly it. I want to tell her so much but I'm afraid that is I do she'll wind up dead."

Tony nodded once, "Talk to her Castle. Call her out if you have to and then break it to her. She may hate you for a while but if she loves you, and after that kiss last night I personally think she does, then she'll get over it and the two of you can move on."

Castle nodded his thanks then saw that Beckett and Ziva were on their way back, "Don't tell her about this."

Tony nodded, "It's none of my business."

Castle nodded as Beckett came to a halt beside them. "You ready?" she asked. Both men nodded and Beckett smile, "Then let's go get you a bike."

**Ziva and Beckett**

The two women rode around the structure slowly at first but they slowly picked up speed as Ziva got more confident although since they were inside they never got above about 10mph.

After a few minutes of driving around Beckett stopped the bike and turned to face Ziva. "Are you ok?"

The ex-assassin nodded, "Yes, thank you for doing this."

Beckett shrugged, "You want to be able to do your part in this op, I can respect that and if I can help you do that I will."

Ziva smiled at then threw a glance over to where Tony and Castle were still sat. She could see that they were both talking about something and from what she could see of Tony's face she guessed it was pretty serious, although she had no idea what. "I wonder what they're talking about," she mussed.

Beckett followed her gaze, "You care about him."

"Who, Tony?" Ziva questioned, shocked by where this conversation was now going.

Beckett nodded, "You can see it in your eyes when you look at him, it was the same way my mom looked at my dad before she died." The last bit was sad in a sad voice.

"And probably similar to the way you look at Castle if that kiss last night was anything to go on," Ziva said, determined to steer the conversation in a different direction. She really didn't want to talk about what she may or may not feel towards Tony DiNozzo, it was too complicated to explain, especially since she wasn't fully sure herself.

Beckett blushed, "It's complicated."

"How? If you love each other how can it be complicated?" Ziva questioned, not understanding the problem.

"Because I've been keeping something from him and I don't know if he'll forgive me for it," Beckett said in quiet voice.

Ziva shook her head, "Whatever it is, I think he loves you enough to forgive you. It may take time but that man loves you almost as much as he loves his daughter." Beckett gave her a shocked look and Ziva laughed quietly, "I read people well detective, it was part of my training at Mossad and he gets the same look in his eye when he looks at you as he does when he looks at his daughter."

Beckett shook her head, clearly not believing her, "He told me he loved me after I was shot and I told him I don't remember."

Ziva looked at her then sighed, "I'm sorry but he is keeping something from you too."

"What?" Beckett exclaimed, searching Ziva's face.

Ziva nodded, "I do not know what but every now and then when he looks he gets this look in his eye that he feels guilty about something and I'm guessing that he's keeping something for you too, something that could seriously harm any kind of future for the two of you which is why he is keeping it to himself."

Beckett looked over at where Castle and Tony were sat talking and saw Castle glance in their direction. She quickly averted her eyes and looked down at the bike.

Ziva noticed this and said, "I think you should talk to him detective, I think that you both need to sort out whatever is keeping you apart."

Beckett nodded, "Thank you Ziva. When this case is over I'll talk to him. If," she continued, "You talk to Tony." Ziva gave her a shocked look and Beckett smiled at her, "I saw how you avoided the question earlier Ziva, I know that you have feelings for Tony but you don't know what to do about it since you're not a hundred per cent sure on what your feelings are." Ziva began to shake her head, to try and deny it but Beckett spoke, "Trust me, talk to him and see what happens."

Ziva nodded, "Maybe I will, what's the worst that could happen?"

Beckett nodded and then the two of them spent the next few seconds on silence. "Are you ready to go Ziva?" Beckett asked.

She nodded, "I am thank you."

Beckett smiled and slowly drove back over to where they had left Tony and Castle.

Castle nodded as she came to a halt beside them, before asking, "You ready?" When both men nodded Beckett smile, "Then let's go get you a bike."


	12. Chapter 12

**Next chapter, hope you like it :)**

They drove to the impound lot slowly, Beckett not wanting to scare Ziva before their undercover tonight.

Once they had got to the lot, Castle and Tony following behind Beckett and Ziva, Beckett flashed her bag to the officer in the booth and said, "We're from the 12th, my captain should have called."

The man looked down at the clip board in front of him and nodded, "Detective Kate Beckett and two NCIS agents. You want a bike for a joint undercover op tonight at Bikers Rest." Beckett nodded and then office smiled, "Bikes are in the back left of the lot, go take your pick."

Beckett smiled and waited until the barrier had risen before driving in, closely followed Castle and Tony. They slowly made their way to the part of the lot that the officer had directed them to and once they were there Beckett and Castle killed their engines and put the bikes up on their stands. Tony quickly dismounted from behind Castle and went over to where Ziva was slowly getting off Beckett's bike. Once she had both feet on the floor Tony asked her, "You ok?"

She nodded and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine Tony."

Tony watched her for a moment as Castle and Beckett both got off their bikes and moved away to give them some space. "Will you be ok for tonight?" Tony questioned.

Ziva nodded, "I'll be fine Tony, stop fussing."

Tony took a step closer and whispered in her ear, "I'll always worry Ziva," before he hastily walked over to where Castle and Beckett were standing looking at the bikes they had a choice of.

Ziva watched him go then sighed, Kate was right; she really did need to talk to him even if she wasn't totally sure what her feelings were, and who knew maybe talking to him would help her sort them out. She shook her head to clear it before walking over to join the others.

They were standing admiring the bikes and Tony was wandering among them, looking at all of them and trying to find a bike he liked for that night. He stopped in front of one and looked at it then turned to Ziva, "What do you think Zi? Do you like this one?"

Ziva walked over to him, closely followed by Kate and Rick. When she saw the bike she shrugged, "I don't care Tony, you're the one who is going to be controlling the thing."

Tony nodded then looked over at Kate and Rick, "How about you two. What do you think?"

The two of them stepped forward and took a look at the bike, "A Ninja 250R, a good choice I think," Rick said.

Beside him Kate nodded before looking at Rick, "How come you know so much about Ricky?"

He turned to her, "Book research a couple of years ago meant I spent a lot of time going to bike shops and looking on the internet."

Kate nodded and looked back to Tony, "So do you want this one?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah. Hey it's even black; it'll match the two of yours."

Ziva shook her head and smiled while Rick and Kate just smiled at him. "I guess it would wouldn't it."

Tony gave them all a goofy smile then asked with childlike glee, "Can I get the keys?"

Kate laughed out right and said, "Go see the officer in the booth and tell him the reg, he should have the keys."

Tony happily wandered back in the direction they had come and Kate and Rick turned to Ziva. "Is he always like this?"

Ziva nodded, "Yeah sometimes I guess, but sometimes he can actually be quiet sweet even when he's being a pain."

Kate smiled at her and the two women shared a look while Rick just watched them, confused by the look in both women's eyes. Even after living with his mother and his daughter for five years and being able to give his female characters some proper depth he still had no clue about the nuances of the gender.

They were silent for a few moments before Rick spoke. "Kate, where can we go and drive to get Ziva and Tony used to the bike for tonight?"

Kate thought for a moment, "There's a place out by my dad's that might work. It's a bit of a drive but it's not too bad."

Rick thought for a moment then nodded, "Should be good Kate, besides, means I can see your dad again."

Kate glared at him but then Tony came back with the keys, grinning like he had just won the lottery. He quickly made his way to the bike and threw his leg over it before putting the key in and starting it. Once the engine roared to life his grin just got wider and he looked over at the group of people watching him.

Kate smiled at him and said, "Take it for a spin to get used to it before Ziva gets on the back."

Tony nodded and pulled away, slowly making his way to the entrance to the lot and then going into traffic. Kate turned back to Ziva and Rick, "So when Tony gets back we can drive out to where I got used to my bike."

Ziva and Rick both nodded and then stood waiting for Tony to get back. After a few moments of silence Rick spoke, "So then Kate, I guess I managed to deal with you straddling your bike in tight leather alright after all."

Kate smirked, "I guess you did, but how do you think you'll do tonight?"

"Huh?"

Kate's smirk grew, "You know full well we're going to have to act like a very very close couple," she bite her lip slightly before continuing, "If we want to fool the other bikers."

Rick gulped audibly and Kate looked over at Ziva and saw that the Israeli was watching the banter between the two of them carefully with a slight smile on her face. Kate smiled at her then looked back at Rick. "So Rick," she teased, "What did Alexis mean when she was dropping off your bike?"

Rick mumbled something under his breath. "I'm sorry kitten, I didn't quite get that."

Rick scowled at her, "Don't call me kitten Beckett."

She raised her eyebrow and said, "Go on then, what happened."

Rick sighed, "The year before I meet you I was out on my bike and may have been being a little stupid."

Kate interrupted, "Riding a police horse stupid or Castle stupid?" Ziva gave them both a shocked look and Kate said, "When we first meet I brought him in for questioning and I got his rap sheet and he one that stuck out the most was that he stole and rode a police horse naked." Ziva shook her head at the story while Kate turned back to Rick.

"Police horse stupid I guess," he paused before continuing to say, "I was pissed, Meredith had blown off Alexis yet again and this time she hadn't even called to say she wasn't coming, Alexis was upset and I couldn't deal with it so I got on my bike and flew through the streets of New York, weaving in and out of traffic like a mad man. Anyway I was fine until I had to stop, I was going little too fast and ended up flying off my bike when I hit the curb. The bike was fine but I was a little banged up, the helmet saved my head, mostly, I cut just below my eyebrow and had scrapes all over my body along with a broken wrist. Have you got any idea how hard it is to type with a broken wrist?" he joked.

Kate gave him a sympathetic look, "Sorry Rick, I didn't know."

Rick shrugged, "Same thing happened with the police horse."

Kate nodded again then caught Ziva's confused look. "Meredith is Rick's first wife and Alexis's mother."

Ziva nodded as Rick took over, "Yeah but she left me when Alexis was a baby, I caught her cheating and she decided that her career was more important than her family."

Ziva gave him a sympathetic look while Kate reached out and squeezed his shoulder. They all stood in silence as they saw that Tony was making his way back to them.

Rick gave Kate a sad smile as he squeezed the hand that she still had on his shoulder.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hope you like it and I'm sorry updates are taking so long but I only have access to my internet once a week and I've got homework to do as well as writing.**

When Tony stopped they saw the large smile that was on his face. "Like it Tony?" Ziva teased.

Tony nodded happily, "I think when we get home I might have to get one."

Ziva shook her head and Kate smiled at her before asking, "Do you want to ride with me to the spot I know or with Tony?"

Ziva thought for a moment, "How far is it?"

"Fifteen, twenty minutes depending on the traffic."

"Can I come with you please." She turned to Tony, "It's not that I don't trust you but the first time I want to get on a bike with you I'd rather there was much traffic."

Tony nodded, "Sure Zi, whatever you feel happiest with." Ziva smiled but then Tony asked, "Where are we actually going?"

Kate smiled, "A quiet place where Ziva can get used to riding with you without a load of traffic."

Tony smiled, "Fair enough."

Kate went to get on her bike but Rick's voice stopped her, "You're going to want to ring Gates or she'll go postal when we get back."

Kate sighed but pulled out her phone and dialled the Captain's phone. "Captain, its Beckett. Yes we're fine. We're going to go out of the city for a bit so Agent David can get used to riding with Agent DiNozzo." She paused for a moment as Gates said something to her and rolled her eyes at Rick. He laughed lightly and then Kate spoke again, "Yes sir." She hung up and sighed, "I hate having to report in where we are."

Rick shrugged, "As much as I agree with you, you've got to admit it's a good idea."

Kate scowled, "We don't get in trouble that much."

"Um excuse me," Ziva asked, "Why does your captain make you check in?"

Kate sighed, "Because after the tiger case she decided that if she knew where we were going we wouldn't get drugged and nearly eaten by a tiger."

Ziva and Tony both smiled while Rick laughed. "Shall we?" he asked, gesturing to the bikes.

Kate nodded and swung her leg over the bike, Ziva getting on behind her. Tony and Rick quickly got onto their bikes and they all started them. Kate pulled away first, Rick and Tony falling in behind. As they went past the guard and under the barrier Kate slowed and thanked the man. He smiled, "You all look the part at least."

Kate smiled and drove down the streets, Tony and Rick following close behind. Since the traffic was light it only took them fifteen minutes to make it out of the city and into the suburbs. She made her way to the empty lot that wasn't far from her father's house. The lot had been empty for years and Kate was glad to see that it still was as empty as the day she had got her bike. It was in the more industrial area of the suburb so it was a decent size. Once they were off the road Kate stopped the bike and waited for Ziva to get off. Once she was Kate got off and went to stand with Rick while Tony pulled Ziva to the side and started speaking to her.

"If you want to keep riding with Beckett you're more than welcome to," he began.

Ziva put her hand over his mouth, "Why is it that you take to micky about everything but you're being nice when you find out I can't ride a bike?"

Tony shrugged, "Cause no matter what anyone says, I do have a heart and I do care."

Ziva looked at the floor, letting the words sink in, hoping they meant that he cared about her as much as she had finally realised she cared about him. She looked back up at him and smiled, "I'll be fine Tony, and for some reason I trust you. But do anything stupid I will kill you."

Tony nodded and smiled, "Hey, you only trust me cause of my charming personality."

Ziva shook her head and walked over to where Rick and Kate were standing saying over her shoulder, "In your dreams Tony."

Kate looked at Tony and said, "If you two want to just drive around for a bit, Ziva should get used to the bike."

Tony nodded and got onto the bike. Ziva took a deep breath and got on behind him, putting her arms around his waist and hugging him tight. Tony revealed in the feeling for a moment before saying, "Zi, you're going to have to loosen your grip a little if you want me to be able to breath and control the bike."

Ziva loosened her arms a little, but not much. Tony, now able to breath, started the bike and slowly pulled away. He went round the lot a few times, getting a little faster the longer he went on. Soon he was up to the speed he would be on the road and kept going round. As he went Ziva's arms loosened as she got more comfortable, although she still held him tightly. To begin with she had her face pressed into Tony's back but as her arms loosened she moved so she could see where they were going. Towards the end of the ride she was even beginning to enjoy herself. Holding Tony and watching the buildings and Castle and Beckett wiz past, especially the holding Tony part, felt exhilarating.

When they pulled to a stop Ziva got off the bike, smiling and most certainly feeling a lot better about riding a motor bike.

While they had been going round and round Rick had been playing on his phone while Kate watched Tony and Ziva. When they got back to where the two were stood Kate saw the smile on Ziva's face and asked, "All happy?"

Ziva nodded, "Yeah, I should be fine for tonight."

Kate smiled, "Good." She took a quick look at her watch and asked everyone, "Do you mind if we make a quick stop on the way back."

Rick and Ziva nodded while Tony asked, "Where?"

"My Dad's house is round the corner and I haven't seen him much since I came back to work."

Rick shook his head, "Kate, you know he'll be worried about you."

"We talk on the phone all the time Castle so mind your own." A hurt look appeared on Rick's face and Kate sighed, "Sorry Castle, it's just that the summer was difficult on all of us."

Rick nodded, "No kidding." He swung his leg over his bike, "Let's go before Gates calls and tells us she wants us back at the 12th."

Kate gave him another sorry look before getting on her bike. Once Ziva had got on behind Tony, Kate pulled out of the empty lot and led the way down then streets to her father's house. Once outside Kate shut off her engine and pulled off her helmet. She turned to the others, "I won't be long ok so can you just sit out here for a minute or so."

Tony and Ziva both nodded while Rick just gestured her towards the house. Seeing that he was still hurt over her earlier snapped answer Kate sighed and walked over to him, "Can I talk to you for a moment Rick?"

Rick nodded slowly and got off his bike and followed her out of ear shot of Tony and Ziva. "Look Rick, I'm sorry about snapping earlier. I know that you had a hard time over the summer too, no thanks to me."

Rick shook his head, "Kate, you were recovering from a gunshot wound and I shouldn't have said what I did, it's not my place."

Kate reached out and touched his cheek briefly before resting her hand on his arm, "No Castle, you're my partner and I shouldn't have shut you out and for that I am truly sorry."

Rick was about to say more when a voice from the house stopped him. "Is that you Katie?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Here you go, finally. Hope you like it :)**

Kate turned to the house and smiled, "Hey dad." she walked up to him and gave him a hug.

Jim hugged her back then lent back, "What are you doing here Katie?"

"We've got an op tonight and we wanted to practice on the bikes and the best thing I could think of was the empty lot down the road."

Jim nodded then looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Hello Rick."

"Hey Mr Beckett, it's good to see you again," the especially after the last time they had met went unsaid but the two men could read it on the others face.

"You too Rick." He released his daughter and walked over and shook Rick's hand.

He released Rick's hand and turned back to his daughter. "Who are your friends Katie?"

Kate turned to look at Tony and Ziva and smiled at her father. "These are NCIS Special Agents Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David."

Jim went over and shook the both of their hands, "It's nice to meet the pair of you." He paused for a moment then continued, "NCIS, that's navy cops right?"

Ziva nodded, "Yes it is."

Jim smiled then turned back to Kate, "Cup of tea Katie-bug?"

Kate opened her mouth the answer but was cut off when her phone rang. She dug it out her pocket and answered it, giving her father an apologetic smile. "Beckett. Hey Espo. What can I do for you?" She stopped for a moment listening then said, "Ok, thanks Espo. We're at my dad's so we'll be back in a half hour or so. "

She hung up and looked at Jim, "Sorry dad."

Jim waved his hand, "Go do your job Katie, just be careful ok."

Kate kissed him on the cheek and hugged him again, "I'm always careful dad."

He nodded "I know Kate, but I'm your dad so I'm going to worry."

Kate nodded again, "My next day off I'll come round and see you properly ok."

Jim nodded then watched as his daughter got on her bike. She started the engine at the same time Tony did. Rick got on his bike but didn't start his engine as Jim gestured for him to wait. Kate didn't notice and pulled slowly all, Tony following close behind. Rick watched as they made their way slowly down the road then turned to Jim, who had walked over to him.

"Look after her please Rick. I know she's a big girl now but I always get nervous when she tells me about her work, especially after the summer."

Rick nodded, "I've got her back, Mr Beckett, always have always will."

Jim smiled happily and shook Rick's hand again. "You better go before you get left behind."

He took a step back and Rick swung his leg over the bike and started the engine. He pulled out and quickly followed after Kate.

A half hour later they had parked in the garage and were on their way up to the bull pen. Once the lift stopped they all got out and walked over into the conference room where everyone was standing. Once inside all the talk stopped and Gibbs turned to speak to them. "Given that we know this biker gang is ruthless, we want to send you in this afternoon rather than this evening. The less time you spend there after dark the better."

"Boss, are you sure we'll get the drug trade if we go in earlier?" Tony asked, leaning against the table.

Gibbs nodded, "We were talking it over while you were out and we all agreed that it was more likely that the deals would be done when there were less people in the bar."

Kate nodded, "Sounds like a good idea."

"That's why they decided it Kate," Rick joked, going to lean beside Tony.

Kate smiled while Esposito shook his head. Still looking at the board Kate asked, "Got anywhere with the murder?"

McGee shook his head, "Not really no. no security cameras in the area and the uniforms got nothing."

Esposito nodded, "Yeah, exactly what we thought."

Kate nodded. "So when are we going in?"

Gibbs spoke again, "As soon as we've eaten something and you've been wired with mikes."

Kate nodded and stood still while Esposito attached small mike to the strap of her bra. Abbs did the same to Ziva while Ryan and McGee attached mikes to Tony and Rick's necklines where they should hopefully be hidden even if they took their jackets off. Once they were all done they were asked to think of a distress word.

Once the mikes were tested and the distress word sorted Rick asked, "The normal?"

Kate nodded, "Thanks Rick." She looked at the NCIS team, "Chinese alright?"

They all nodded and Rick left. He was back in ten minutes with a big bag of food. He handed Kate a cup of coffee and got a smile in return as she took a two handed sip. He put the bag on the table and started unpacking, "Pick what you want, I always get too much."

Everyone dived in and were all soon munching their way through the stack of food. After a few minutes Rick spoke, "Do you know how hard it is to carry take out on a motor bike?"

Kate laughed, "You didn't."

Rick nodded, "Yeah ended up tying it to the back of the bike."

Kate laughed, "Only you Castle would go and buy enough food for an army on a bike."

Everyone laughed and finished their food in silence. The left overs were carried to the break room fridge and stuck inside. Back in the conference room Tony, Ziva, Kate and Rick were getting ready to go to the bar. Tony and Ziva had given their service weapons to Gibbs and Ziva was looking at her knife, obviously deciding if she could get away with it or not. Tony went to stand behind her and whispered in her ear, "Stick the little one in your boot, should be hidden."

Ziva nodded her thanks and picked up her smallest knife before lifting her foot and sticking it into the top of her boot, pushing the top down so that it wasn't poking out and visible.

Gibbs came into the room and asked if they were ready. All four nodded and were leading the way to the lift when Gates stopped them. "Any sign of trouble I want you out, you and Castle seem to get in more trouble than the rest of the people under my command put together."

Kate nodded, "Yes sir."

Gates nodded and turned and left, Kate rolling her eyes at her retreating back and looked at Rick, "Ugh, she acts like every time we walk out the door we're going to get kidnapped or something."

Esposito came up behind her and said, "That's cause you do Beckett, your track record isn't brilliant."

Kate rolled her eyes again but otherwise ignored him. The eight of them, McGee, Gibbs, Esposito and Ryan were going to get the van, got into the lift and pushed the button for the garage. As the doors shut Kate spoke to the surveillance group, "You realise don't you that you're not going to be able to park the van anywhere near the bar, you'll put them on alert before we even start."

McGee said, sounding confused, "Wouldn't a van be normal in that area?"

Kate shook her head, "As Biker's Rest is such a popular hangout for bikers, especially those with warrants out, they know the cars and vans that normally park for extended lengths of time in the areas."

Esposito tipped his head to the side and asked, "How come you know so much about the area Beckett?"

Kate shrugged, "When I was in vice I got sent to the area a lot and a few times me cover was blown because there was an unknown car parked in the area."

Esposito nodded while Gibbs looked like he was concentrating hard on something. After a moment he spoke, "How far away do you think we should park so not to raise suspicion?"

Kate was silent for a moment before saying, "At least ten blocks to be on the safe side."

Gibbs nodded while Esposito and Ryan looked concerned. The left stopped and the doors opened. Kate walked out first closely followed by everyone else. They all walked to the van and once they were there Kate turned to Esposito and Ryan. "We'll be fine guys. I can take care of myself and it's not like I'm going in on my own."

The boys both still looked unsure but they both silently got in the van, intending to keep a very very close eye on anything that happened.


	15. Chapter 15

The four bikers watched as the van drove off then got onto their bikes. Kate and Rick lead the way out. Once they got to the top of the ramp out of the garage Kate slowed her bike to wait for a break in the traffic. Rick came to a stop beside her and took the chance to admire the way that she and the bike went together. She caught his staring and smirked at him before pulling out and leaving him behind, Tony following directly after them. It took Rick a second to come to his senses enough to follow them.

He soon caught up with them and went to ride beside Kate. He stayed beside her for a few minutes, the two of them keeping to the lane and staying behind the cab they were following. Rick soon got bored and started revving his engine loudly, jumping forward a little before coming back to ride beside Kate. She soon got caught up in Rick's joking about and ended up copying him. After a few minutes of ever increasing speed and the two over taking each other again and again Kate pulled out from behind the cab and began weaving through the cars. Rick chuckled to himself, who knew Kate could be such a rebel, before he too pulled out and hurried to catch up with her. Soon the two of them were blasting their way down the road, racing each other and both laughing in their helmets.

Tony and Ziva watched them go then, speaking loud enough so that Ziva could hear him over the sounds of the traffic and through her helmet, said, "You alright to go a little faster so we don't get left completely behind?"

He felt Ziva nod then bury her face into his shoulder. Her helmet dug in uncomfortably but he didn't let it bother him as he accelerated and followed after Rick and Kate, although he didn't go nearly as fast as they had gone.

Kate and Rick pulled up in front of the bar and, after putting them on their stands got, off and turned to each other, huge smiles on both their faces. They pulled off their helmets and beamed at each other. "We have got to do that more often Kate," Rick said breathlessly.

Kate nodded, "Yeah we do, that was the most fun I've had on my bike in a long time."

They stood silently for a few moments, waiting for Tony and Ziva to show up. After a few minutes Rick spoke again, "Maybe next time we go riding with people we don't leave them in the dust."

Kate laughed, "Now that sounds like a very good plan."

They both turned towards the road when they heard another bike pulling up. Seeing that it was Tony and Ziva they moved away from their bikes and went over to where Tony was in the process of parking his bike. Ziva slid of gracefully and pulled of her helmet. Tony followed her off and pulled off his too. The two of them were also smiling happily although Ziva's smile wasn't nearly as big as Tony's. Once the two of them had put their helmets away Kate spoke, "Everyone ready?" The other three nodded and Kate led the way into the bar.

Once inside all the talk stopped as the patrons turned to look at the new comers. Kate ignored all the stares and led the way to a booth near the back of the bar, near the ball tables. She and Ziva slid in first, one on each side, then the boys slid in after them. After a few seconds of them all sitting there uncomfortably Kate took the led once more and leant into Rick. He put her arm around and pulled her closer. Ziva and Tony copied them and soon the chat in the bar started up again. Rick was silent for a moment then asked, in a low voice, "Do you think I should go get drinks?"

Kate thought for a moment then nodded, "It would look odd if we didn't."

Rick nodded, "Four beers?" Kate nodded, as did Tony and Ziva. Taking his arm back from around Kate Rick stood and made his way over to the bar. Once he had gone Kate looked at Ziva and Tony, "Can you two see the door alright?"

The two nodded, "Yeah. Anyone suspicious comes in and we'll know about it." Kate raised an eyebrow and Tony laughed, "Ok, anyone more suspicious than the others."

Kate nodded and then Rick came back with the drinks, closely followed by the guy from behind the bar. He had grey hair but had a hard look about him, like he had seen his fair share of blood and prison in his time. Rick set the drinks on the table and slid back in next to Kate, putting his arm possessively around her and stealing a kiss. Kate sat ramrod straight for a split second then kissed him back, well aware that this kiss was probably more for show than anything else. The thought didn't stop her heart stuttering though and when Rick pulled back she knew the same look was reflected on both their faces. Rick turned back to the others and introduced the man who had followed them, "This is Abe and it's his bar."

Abe nodded his hello then said, "Just thought I'd come over and get to know you a bit. We're not really a fan of strangers around here." He pulled up a chair and sat at the table.

Tony spoke to him with barely concealed anger, hoping to play the part of the biker he was meant to be. "It's a bar, for bikers, you must get plenty of strangers here."

Abe looked at him hard and Tony held his gaze. Seeming satisfied with what he saw in Tony's eye he turned his gaze to Kate and Ziva. He looked them up and down and then said, in a voice that made the both of them want to take a shower, "Hello hot stuff. Either of you want to ditch these kids and see what a real man is like?"

Ziva and Kate shared a look before both of them turned back to look at Abe. Ziva spoke first, "Thanks old man."

Then Kate took over, "But we've got all the man we need right here."

They both reached up and kissed the boys. Abe nodded then spoke again, "Is the Harley out there one of yours?"

He was looking at Rick when he spoke and turned his shocked eyes to Kate when she said, "Yeah, it's mine."

It took Abe a minute to reply, "So was it you and Rick who came tearing up to the bar earlier."

Kate nodded. "What can I say, I like going fast," she smirked.

Abe leered at her then stood and went back to the bar. Kate shivered, "Ok, him I do not like."

Ziva nodded while Rick handed out the drinks. A few silent minutes later Ziva elbowed Tony and nodded to the pool tables. "Let's play some pool Tony, try to blend in a little better."

Tony nodded and pulled Ziva out after him. He kissed her when she stood and then turned and walked to the table. Ziva threw Kate a smile and followed after him. Rick and Kate also stood and went to stand by the table. The two watched amazed as the two NCIS agents played a very fast paced and close game of pool. They heard the door open and Ziva looked up and towards the door and swore lightly in some foreign language. Tony followed her gaze and then swore too. Rick and Kate shared a glance then, being as unobvious as they could, looked towards the bar where a man was standing talking to Abe.

They looked back at Tony and Ziva, wondering why this man had caused such a reaction. Tony came over quickly and said in a low voice, "It's Sumner's CO. His name is Hank Collins and he's going to recognise us because it was him we spoke to regarding the possibility of Sumner transporting drugs."

Ziva nodded then she and Tony turned their backs to the bar, in the hope of shielding their identities from Collins. It didn't work because after a few minutes of talking to Abe Collins came over and looked straight at them. Then, in a voice loud enough to be heard by the whole bar said, "Their cops."

The reaction from the bikers was immediate. They all jumped to their feet and made their way to the group of four. As Ziva pulled her knife out of her boot and Kate and Tony armed themselves with pool cues Rick spoke into his mouth, "Ok, we're completely blown, apples." When they had come up with the distress word Kate had laughed but now there was no laughter just a sharp pain on the back of Rick's skull and then blackness.


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok, so the end of this chapter was a little rushed wince I wanted to finish it before school but I hope you like it.**

He groaned and sat up, bringing his hand cup the back of his head. He winced when he felt the bump and pushed on it. He looked around him and saw that Kate was sprawled beside him. He gently shook her shoulder, "Kate, wake up." Her eyes fluttered open. She slowly sat up and when she raised her hand to feel her head she brought Rick's hand with her. The two stared at their hands. They were cuffed together, again, left hand to left hand.

From beside them they heard someone groaning. The two of them silently joined hands, so the cuffs didn't dig in, and crawled towards the sound of the groans. When they got closer they saw that Tony and Ziva were lying next to each other. Kate and Rick slowly made their way over to Tony, who had been groaning, and helped him sit up.

He blinked a few times and rubbed his shoulder, "What happened?"

Kate was about to answer when Ziva sat up, moving her hand and Tony's in the process. She looked down and saw that they too were cuffed together. She looked at her wrist shocked then looked at Rick and Kate. The two of them raised their joined hands and shock them. "Yeah," Rick said, breaking the silence, "We're all cuffed together."

Kate and Ziva took the chance to look around. "Where are we?" Kate questioned, "Does anyone remember what happened?"

Rick thought for a moment, "All I remember is saying that we were screwed and then a pain in the back of my head."

Kate nodded then said, "Yeah, our cover was blown and we got into a fight in the bar. Rick went down first then Tony, then I don't remember anything else."

Ziva spoke then. "You got smacked across the back of the head with a pool cue," Kate winced as she raised her hand and probed the bump, "Then I got overwhelmed and the next thing I remember is waking up here." Her voice sounded rough and in the dim light Kate could see that she was looking a little pale.

Tony took the time they had been speaking to check to see if his mic was still attached. Not finding it he said, "They took the mic's."

The other three checked and found that theirs where gone too. "Great," Kate said, "We've been out," she looked at her watch, "For an hour which means Esposito, Ryan, Gibbs and McGee can't find us. Yet at least anyway."

Ziva and Tony nodded in agreement while Rick rubbed the back of his head. Seeing him wince Kate knocked his hand away and moved so she could take a look. "You'll be fine after a couple of pain killers Rick. It's just a large bump."

Rick nodded, "I know, doesn't stop it hurting though." Everyone chuckled lightly as he whined. They grew serious once more as they all looked around. "Where do you think we are?"

Kate shrugged, "We could be anywhere in New York Castle, I'm not even going to speculate."

Rick groaned again, "Can we stand up and look around Kate?"

Kate nodded and the two got to their feet gracefully and without incident, so unlike the last time they had been cuffed. The two slowly felt their way in the dark and soon came up on a metal wall. They followed it round and were soon back where they started.

They went back and sat back beside Tony and Ziva. "Looks like we're in a cargo container or something similar in size anyway." Both Tony and Ziva nodded then Kate spoke again, "I didn't ask, how are the two of you feeling?"

Tony answered first, "I've been better but all I really need is a couple of asprin."

They all turned to Ziva, who hadn't answered yet. "I have had worse but I can't move my arm very well."

Tony immediately moved to look at the arm that wasn't attached to his. He pulled her arm out her sleeve and apologised when she let out a hiss of pain, "Sorry Zi." He moved his head closer to her arm and sighed. "It looks swollen," he gently held it and began moving her wrist. Ziva winced but let him do it. "There's nothing broken, I think you might have just bruised it pretty badly."

Ziva nodded, "Sounds about right. So really all I need is peas."

Everyone chuckled lightly then turned back to the business at hand. Tony spoke first, "If they haven't found us yet it's a fair bet to say we should probably try and get out on our own."

Kate nodded while Rick looked around the dim space. After a few minutes he spoke, "So all we've got is each other, it doesn't look like there is anything else in here."

"Except that hole," Ziva said, nodding towards the back corner of the container, "Although first maybe we should try the door, just in case."

Rick and Kate got to their feet and then helped Tony and Ziva to theirs. The NCIS agents watched as the partners moved gracefully towards the door to the container. They followed, although they weren't nearly as coordinated. At the door Kate and Rick attempted to push up the lock but after a few fruitless minutes both stopped and Kate sighed, "It's locked."

Rick nodded his agreement and turned back to look at the hole Ziva had pointed out. Kate followed his gaze and silently the two of them made their way over to stand underneath it. It was towards the top of the container, well above anyone's height. Tony and Ziva followed along behind and sighed. "Looks like that's out of the question, we can't get up there if we're handcuffed." Tony's face suddenly lit up and he looked at Ziva, "Do you think you can pick the cuffs."

Ziva shook her head regretfully, "I'd need my other hand and it hurts way too much to use."

Tony sighed again while Kate and Rick shared a look. Rick sighed, "Fine Kate, but take your boots off."

Kate silently turned her back to him and he pulled her boots off for her. Tony and Ziva watched confused until Kate smiled at them, "Don't worry, we've done this before."

Rick turned towards the wall and crouched slightly, his hands going above his head, just like they had the last time they had done this cuffed together. Kate gripped both of her hands in his then slowly counted to three. On three she stood on Rick's leg and used it as a step to get to his shoulders.

It all happened in a matter of seconds and Tony and Ziva watched amazed as the two partners, now standing one on top of the other, stood firm and unwavering. Kate let go of Rick's right hand and used it to steady herself against the wall. She then moved her head so she could see out of the gap. After a few seconds she spoke, "The gap isn't really big enough to get through but I can see out of it alright. It looks like we're near the river somewhere."

She took Rick's hand again and soon the two of them were standing on the floor once more. Rick smiled at her, "Hey, at least you got your wish. There is no tiger."

Kate laughed at him then looked at the others. Tony and Ziva were both confused by how light and cheerful the NYPD detective and her partner seemed to be. "How can you be so calm?" Ziva questioned.

"Because we've been in a lot worse situations and we got through them. Plus," Rick joked, "This reminds me of the tiger case although I must say this one is more fun."

Kate rolled her eyes, "We have faith that Ryan and Esposito will find us eventually or we'll figure a way out ourselves." She looked down at her sock clad feet. "Sit down Rick; I need to put my boots back on."

Rick shook his head, "No, I've just had an idea."

Kate gave him a questioning look and he smiled, "Just trust me ok."


	17. Chapter 17

"Rick, I don't think this is such a good idea." She had her hand through the hole in the container. Below her Rick was holding her legs, keeping her as steady as he could.

"It'll be fine, nobody has so much as knocked on the container so I don't think there's anybody out there."

Kate pulled her hand back in and reached down. "Can you pass me the thingy?"

Tony walked up, Ziva close behind, and handed her a small device. She took it and Tony looked at Rick. "So where did you get a GPS chip?"

Rick went to shrug and felt Kate wobble on his shoulders. He steadied her again and she knocked his head with her leg, "Don't try and shrug Castle, I'm kind of doing a balancing act here."

He squeezed her leg slightly, "Sorry Kate." He looked back at Tony, "After the time with the tiger Alexis thought it might be a good idea for me to carry something with me, somewhere it wouldn't get taken, so the next time me and Kate disappeared they'd find us quicker."

Kate pulled her arm back into the container and tugged on the hand that was still handcuffed to hers. Rick got the message and helped her down. "So why did I need to stick it outside?" she asked once she was stood back on the floor.

"Because I'm not sure if it would work inside a big metal container," Rick answered.

Tony and Ziva stood to the side, fighting quietly. "You can't just keep pulling me along Tony and if you say anything about being the senior field agent I'll strangle you with the bloody cuffs."

Rick and Kate smiled at each other and made their way over to the bickering pair. Kate was the first to speak, "If you hold hands the cuffs don't dig in and it makes it less painful when you do get pulled."

Ziva glared at Tony for a moment before taking his hand in hers. Tony smiled at her then looked back at Kate and Rick. "How come the two of you are so in sync?"

"Because the last time this happened we spent a while arguing then we found our rhythm," Rick said, "And I guess we haven't lost it yet."

Kate shook her head. "So what are we going to do? We don't know how long it will take anyone to realise that the GPS is active and we have no way of knowing if or when any of the bikers are coming."

Ziva nodded her understanding and looked around the bare container. "There's nothing in here that we can use. What has everyone got in their pockets?"

Everyone emptied their pockets onto the floor in front of them. Ziva tugged on Tony's arm and the two of them sat, closely followed by Rick and Kate, the latter using the chance to put her boots back on again.

Ziva looked at the pile in front of them. "So we've got a packet of gum, some beef jerky," Kate raised an eyebrow at Rick who shrugged while Ziva continued, "Some string and a movie ticket stub."

The four looked at the few supplies in front of them and sighed. Rick reached his uncuffed hand out and picked up the jerky. "Since there's no tiger to feed it to, anyone want some jerky?"

Kate shook her head but moved her hand so that Rick could open the packet. When he did he offered it first to Kate, who took one and started chewing. Rick then offered it to the NCIS agents. Ziva shook her head but Tony took some and ate it. Rick took one for himself before folding over the packet and pushed it back into his pocket. He looked at the rest of the supplies they had on the floor and then around the container. He opened his mouth to speak but then there was a crash as someone, or something, hit the outside of the container.

Beside him he felt Kate tense and heard as her breathing became ragged. He held her handcuffed hand even tighter and put his other arm around her. "Breath Kate, it was probably just a rock, it wasn't a gun shot and we're safe."

Kate buried her head in his shoulder and tried to calm her breathing. Tony and Ziva watched as Rick rubbed her back and whispered calming words in her ear.

A few minutes later Kate's breathing had returned to normal, or at least close enough anyway, and turned to look at Tony and Ziva. She was still shaken so Rick kept his arm around her as she opened her mouth to speak. She felt she owed the two an explanation to why she had panicked. "After my shooting last year, I developed PTSD. I didn't realise until we had a serial sniper case and I kind of lost it a little." She looked at Rick, "I never thanked you by the way. I know that you asked Javi to talk to me."

Rick shook her head and lightly kissed her temple, "Always Kate."

There was another crash and everyone jumped. Ziva then took charge, "Ok, maybe not rocks. I think we should move to the back corner of the container, as far away from the door as possible."

Everyone agreed and all four stood. Keeping low, just in case, they made their way to the back of the container. Once there they sat in the corner, backs against the wall, all watching the door.

They sat in silence for what felt like forever. Every so often there would be another bang and outside they could hear shouting and shooting. They all guessed, but didn't say out loud, that the bangs were bullets hitting the container.

There was a sudden silence before the container door opened. The four at the back pushed themselves further into the wall, trying to use the shadows as cover since they couldn't really do much else.

**Only a few chapters left and there is going to be a lot more shipiness in the next few.**


	18. Chapter 18

**So this is going to be a chapter with a lot of angst. I hope you like it.**

As the door opened Rick gripped Kate's hand harder and she returned the grip just as hard. Suddenly scared Kate leant closer to Rick. She took a deep breath and whispered into his ear, "I'm sorry Castle but I don't want to go without telling you that I lied in the hospital, I remember everything that happened when I got shot."

Rick stiffened, feeling anger building in him. He had always suspected that she remembered but now that she had told him he knew she had kept it from him and the only reason he could think of was that she didn't return his feelings. He pulled away from her, turning his back and letting go of her hand. Kate felt tears beginning to gather in her eyes and looked up at the door, wondering who it was who was going to come through.

She saw the gun first but then relaxed slightly when she saw Esposito coming towards her. Silently she stood, Rick following her but still refusing to look at her. Tony and Ziva also stood and together the four of them made their way to the door. Once outside they were meet by the sight of Gibbs, Ryan and McGee surrounding a group of men, obviously bikers, who all had their hands in the air.

"Good timing boss," Tony joked.

Gibbs shook his head, "Thank Castle and his daughter for that one DiNozzo."

Esposito made quick work of the cuffs and soon they were all separated. Gibbs looked around the group and spoke, "After Castle said you were blown we got there as quick as we could but the four of you had already disappeared, however, we did get Collins and the drugs. We were in the middle of integrating him when your daughter came rushing in," he glanced at Castle quickly, "And told us that your GPS had been activated. We followed and ended up here. Unfortunately there was a group of bikers here, obviously waiting to be told what to do with you. We got here and got into a shootout, you can see the results." He took a closer look at everyone and said, "Ziva, I want you to go to the hospital and get your arm looked at." Ziva had been holding her arm close to her body so it didn't get knocked.

She shook her head, "It's fine, I'll get Ducky to look at it."

Gibbs nodded, "Tony, you get her to Ducky." He turned to Kate and Rick, "You're bikes are both at the precinct, we loaded them into the van after we had searched the bar."

Kate and Rick both nodded then Rick asked, in a dead voice, "Am I alright to go?"

Gibbs nodded and Rick turned, not even looking at Kate. "Rick wait please, I need to talk to you," Kate pleaded.

Rick gave her a look full of venom, "A little late for that isn't it detective." He turned again and walked away. Once he got to the road he hailed a cab and disappeared.

Ryan and Esposito watched, open mouthed as Rick walked away. They turned to Kate to ask her what was going on and were both shocked to see that her face had fallen and she had tears in her eyes. Ziva took one look at her then turned to Tony, "She's coming with us."

Tony nodded and caught Gibbs keys as the boss threw them at him. Ziva gently took Kate's arm and lead her towards where she could see Gibbs car was parked. Ryan and Esposito watched them go then turned to Tony. "What's wrong with her?"

Tony shook his head, "She said something to Rick about lying to him, something about she can remember her shooting, and now he won't look at her and you heard the way he spoke to her."

Ryan and Esposito shook their heads and looked at each other then back at Tony. "Talk her into going to talk to him about whatever it was. The shooting is a sore spot in their history and anything to do with it needs talked out as soon as possible otherwise they're both going to be miserable."

Tony nodded, "I'll see what I can do, Ziva was talking to her about something earlier so maybe she can sort it out."

He bid good bye to the two detectives before going over to where Gibbs and McGee were standing. "I'll take Ziva to see Ducky as soon as we've dropped off the detective. Is Ducky still at the morgue or has he gone back to the hotel?"

"He's at the morgue, I think he's helping Dr Parish with some autopsies, the other ME is off and she's a little shorthanded," Gibbs answered.

Tony nodded, "I'll see you back at the hotel in a bit then."

Gibbs nodded and Tony jogged over to the car, where Ziva was talking to Kate in a low voice. "You told him and now you need to talk to him, explain why you didn't tell him whatever it was in the first place."

Kate shook her head, "I have never seen him so angry, even the fight we had before I got shot he wasn't that mad."

Ziva gripped Kate's arms, "Talk to him Kate, find out why he's so angry and try to sort it out. The two of you have something great and you can't let whatever this is get in the way of that."

Tony came up behind them and unlocked the car, "I agree with Ziva, Gibbs has a rule, you don't waste good and the pair of you are good."

Kate moved to sit in the back and put her head in her hands. Tony and Ziva got into the front and as Tony started the engine Ziva turned to look at Kate. Kate lifted her head and, with tears running down her face, said quietly, "It doesn't matter how good you think we are he won't forgive me for this lie. He told me he loved me and I told him I didn't remember it." The last part came out as a mumbled whisper as she put her head back into her hands.

Ziva and Tony shared a look, both clearly uncomfortable with Kate's tears. Ziva took the plunge and spoke, "Talk to him Kate, he may forgive you he may not but you won't know until you try."

Kate was still for a few moments then she raised her head and wiped her eyes. "You're right and I'm sorry for melting down on you."

The two agents shook their heads. "You've had a bad day Kate and after an episode of PTSD you have every right to be a little emotional."

Kate smiled up at her, "Thanks." She looked out the window and said, "Can you drop me off at Castle's, I want to sort this out sooner rather than later."

Tony nodded and made his way towards Castle's loft. Once there Kate said, "Thanks, now go and see Ducky about your arm." She got out the car and waved them off.

They left, heading towards the morgue. Kate watched them go and took a deep breath before turning away from the road and towards Castle's building.

She nodded a greeting to the door man and went to the lift. She pushed the button for Rick's floor and leant against the back of the lift. When it stopped at his floor she got out and went to his door. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

She waited for a moment then Martha opened the door. "Detective."

"Martha, is Rick here. I need to talk to him, it's important."

"Anything to do with the way he came in earlier, looking like he did when he found out Meredith was cheating on him?"

Kate looked at her feet, "I need to talk to him Martha."

The older woman nodded, "Yes, yes you do." She stepped to the side and let the detective in. "He's in his office," she said as she shut the door.

Kate nodded her thanks then, squaring her shoulders, made her way to the office. She went to knock but then shook her head and opened the door; she didn't want to give him the chance to kick her out without giving her a chance to explain.

She opened the door and walked in. Castle's back was to her and he was working on his smart board. She looked at what he was doing and froze; it was her case, her shooting. She took a step back and yelled at Castle's back, "You get all high and mighty with me about not telling you I remembered and you were looking in to my case after you told me to back down from it." Castle turned to face her and she continued, her voice getting quieter, but full of venom, "You're a bastard Rick, my case, my mom's case; they're the most important things in my life and you kept them from me." She turned her back and walked out of his office, storming towards the door.

Rick watched her go and in that second realised just how stupid he had been walking away from her. They needed to talk, and they needed to talk now.

**Don't kill the writer, I'll sort it all out in the next chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Here's the next chapter. I hope you like**

After dropping Kate off outside Rick's loft Tony drove down to the ME's office. He parked the car out front and he and Ziva got out.

As they walked into the building Ziva asked Tony, "Do you think Rick and Kate will be ok?"

Tony shrugged, "I honestly don't know. When you and Kate were going around the garage at the precinct he told me that he thought she remembered and that he was keeping something from her too."

Ziva nodded, "I guessed he was keeping something from her but I wasn't sure."

Tony nodded and got into the lift, pushing the button. "He told me that after her shooting a man had called him and told him that to keep Kate safe he had to stop her investigating her shooting and her mother's murder because if she looked into them she'd end up dead."

Ziva looked at him shocked for a moment before Tony continued, "But he told me that he'd been looking into it."

Ziva shook her head, "If Kate sees that I dread to think what'll happen."

The lit stopped and the doors opened. Tony and Ziva stepped out and made their way over to where they could see Ducky talking to a body. They got half way there when they saw Lanie. She smiled at the agents and asked, "Does he always talk to the bodies?"

Tony and Ziva both nodded, "Yeah. All the time."

Lanie shook her head then Ducky looked up. "Ziva my dear, what can I do for you?"

Ziva walked forward and came to a stop in front of him, "Can you take a look at my arm. It took a bit of a knock at the pub and Gibbs said if I didn't want to go to the hospital I had to see you."

Ducky nodded, "Of course my dear."

Ziva stuck her arm out and Ducky took it in both his hands. He slowly moved it back and forth, checking that it wasn't broken. After a few moments he released her and said, "Nothings broken Ziva, it's just going to hurt for a while. Make sure you put some ice on it." Ziva nodded and Ducky looked at Tony, "How about you Tony, you ok?"

Tony nodded, "I'm fine Ducky."

Lanie then chose to speak again, "Where are Kate and Castle?" Ziva and Tony shared a look and Lanie sighed, "That bad?"

Ziva looked at Lanie and nodded, "Rick left and Kate was in tears."

Lanie quickly dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She was tapping on it when Ziva put a hand on her arm. Lanie looked up at her and Ziva shook her head, "We dropped her off at Rick's loft on our way here. They need time to sort this out."

Lanie nodded but didn't look all that happy about it. She understood what Ziva was saying, that they needed to talk and that if she rang or texted Kate she might cause a problem, but Kate was her best friend and she wanted to see if she was ok. She told herself that if she hadn't heard from Kate by shifts end then she would ring Kate, just to check on her.

Kate went towards the door, not watching where she was going, just wanting to get out of the loft. She had just reached the door when it opened and Alexis came in. She stopped when she saw Kate and smiled at her, "It's good to see you safe Kate."

Kate just nodded and made her way around the girl, not speaking a single word. Alexis saw the look on her face and stopped her with a hand on her arm, "What's wrong?"

Kate shook her head, "I've got to go. Please let me go." She could feel the tears building. Yes she was annoyed that Rick had kept her in the dark but she was angrier about the fact that he had put his own life in danger looking into her case alone.

Alexis must have heard something in her voice because she looked at the detective hard and asked, "Kate, what happened?"

Kate was about to tell her that nothing was wrong when Castle came out of his office, a devastated look on his face. He started speaking without even noticing Alexis. "Kate, please let me explain, please Kate please."

Then he saw his daughter, who saw the look on his face and said, "I'll be back in a bit dad. I was just going to pick some stuff up then head over to see Paige."

Rick hardly looked at her and Alexis could see from his face that he was sorry about something and she guessed it was something to do with Detective Beckett. She turned and made her way back out of the loft, knowing that whatever it was they needed to talk about they didn't need her around to hear it.

The shutting of the door snapped Kate back into reality and she span to face Rick. "Why explain Rick. It's pretty clear that you were looking into my case, trying to find more to add the Niki Heat, even after you told me to stop."

Rick shook his head, "No no no, I wasn't looking for more for Niki, I was trying to keep you safe Kate, that's all I ever wanted to do."

Kate laughed, "Yeah, right. That's why my shooting is all over your board."

She turned to open the door then jumped when Rick's hand slammed into it. She turned back to him and said in a low voice, "Let me out Rick."

He shook his head, "You at least owe it to me to hear me out. Please."

Kate could see that he was genuinely sorry about this and that he really did want to explain. She nodded slowly, "Fine Castle, explain, but as soon as you're done we're over."

Rick nodded sadly, "Fine Kate, just hear me out and then decide." He took his arm away from the door and began, "After your shooting a man called me, he said he was a friend of Montgomery's and that Montgomery had sent him files that he could use to keep Montgomery's family and you safe. He said that if the files got out they would do serious damage to whoever was behind your mom's murder but if he kept them hidden and out of the public eye he could keep you safe. The only thing was that you couldn't investigate your case, or your mothers, or the deal was void and you were a target. I know you Kate and I knew that if you knew what I was doing you rush in and end up dead, and I couldn't let that happen."

After Rick finished speaking they sat for a moment, neither speaking, neither moving, until Kate said, "Castle, you shouldn't have carried on looking, you have a family to think about."

Rick shook his head, "I never dug, I just looked at what we already had. I had to Kate, if I'd found something that meant we could actually take down the bastard behind this I would have told you and then we could have put all of this behind us."

Kate shook her head, "No Castle, what if they had found out?"

"I had to Kate. I had to for you. I love you and I just want you to be happy and safe."


	20. Chapter 20

Hearing him say it, when neither of them was dying, got rid of any fears that Castle had just said he loved her because she shot. She looked at him and saw that he was obviously still hurt over her lying to him about the shooting. She looked at her knees then said, "I'm sorry that I lied to you about remembering my shooting Castle."

Castle just looked away and Beckett felt really bad. The two of them had completely fucked this up, they'd kept secrets and lied to each other and now it looked like their partnership might never be the same again. She reached out and took his hand. "I'm sorry Rick that I lied to you, I really am."

Castle just shrugged, "What's done is done."

Kate reached up and turned his head so they were facing each other. She rubbed her thumb against his cheek. "I didn't tell you I remembered was because I didn't know if you meant it or if you just said it because you thought I was dying."

Castle held moved his hand up and pushed his hand against hers. "I meant it Kate, always will."

Kate nodded then the two leant forward and hesitantly brushed lips. They pulled back and looked at each other for a moment then Kate went forward again, capturing his lips in a proper kiss.

When they pulled back again Castle asked quietly, "Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

Kate smiled at him, "Yeah. But I'm not letting you look into my case anymore. We do it together or not at all."

Castle was silent for a moment then nodded and leant forward slowly for another kiss. When they pulled back this time and rested their foreheads against each other. Kate took a deep breath and whispered, "I've wanted to tell you for a while Rick, I love you too."

Castle smiled and kissed her again, more powerfully this time. Kate's phone rang and she began to pull away but Castle's lips followed her, "Leave it," he mumbled.

Kate shook her head and put her hand against his chest, pushing him back and away from her. She gave him a smile then pulled her phone out of her pocket. She looked at the caller ID and sighed. "Hey Espo," she answered, "What can I do for you?"

On the other end of the phone Esposito hesitated for a moment before asking hesitantly, "Are you alright?"

Kate looked at Castle and smiled before answering, "Never better Espo, never better."

Castle smiled back at her as Esposito spoke again, "Um well good. Gates wants you, Castle, Tony and Ziva back at the 12th for a debriefing."

Kate sighed and said, "Ok. We'll be there in a bit, Ziva and Tony are at the morgue getting Ducky to check out her arm."

"Ok," Esposito said, "I'll get Gibbs to call them in. See you in a bit."

"Yep," Kate answered before hanging up.

She looked over at Castle and saw that he was watching her closely. She put her phone on the table then looked back at him saying, "We've got to go down to the 12th; Gates wants a debriefing."

Castle nodded and stood before offering a hand to Kate. She took it and he pulled her up and into his arms. He hugged her close and asked, "What does this mean for us Kate?"

"This means," she rested her head against his shoulder, "We go about business as normal but we're partners in every way."

She felt Castle kiss the top of her head and smile, "I can live with that."

Kate craned her neck and kissed him quickly on the lips, "Good, so can I. Now we need to go to the 12th before Gates ends up ringing me personally."

Castle nodded and took her hand before leading her to the door.

It didn't take long for them to hail a cab and make their way to the precinct.

They got out in front of the 12th and Castle paid the driver before the two of them made their way to the lift and up to the homicide floor. Once they got off the lift the two made their way over to the conference room, where they could see everyone standing.

Everyone in the room looked up when they heard the door open, most of them with concern on their faces. Kate smiled at them all, "Where's the Captain?"

"Right here detective," Gates said as she came into the room, closely followed by Gibbs.

"Sir," Kate said, "Esposito said you wanted to debrief?"

The Captain nodded, "Yes, I wanted to congratulate you and Agents DiNozzo and David for a job well done." She looked around the room, her gaze landing on Castle, "And Mr Castle for the GPS locator."

All four nodded as Gates continued, "I'll leave it to Agent Gibbs to fully debrief you." She turned to leave but then turned back and said, "The next time you're riding, stay below the speed limit; I don't appreciate being called by traffic that one of my detectives was so flagrantly disregarding traffic law."

She left and Esposito and Ryan smirked at her, "Busted."

Kate raised an eyebrow before looking at Ziva, "How's the arm?"

The Israeli smiled and held up her arm which was supporting a bag of ice. "It's all good Kate, just some pain is all."

Kate nodded and then Gibbs started speaking. "I want to say that you did a good job and that we've got Collins confession about the drug smuggling. We're just waiting for the MP's to take him away and then jail time is in his future."

Castle and Kate both nodded and smiled then Gibbs looked around the room. "Go home people, it's been one hell of a day."

Castle and Kate shared a look, both now too wired to go home and do anything at all. "Anyone up for drinks?" Castle asked.

Ryan and Esposito both looked at each other then nodded, "Yeah, sure why not."

Castle turned his attention to the NCIS team, all of whom were thinking. One by one they all nodded and Castle smiled. "Old Haunt it is then." He looked at Esposito and asked, "Do you want to invite Lanie?" Esposito nodded and pulled out his phone, he had just put it to his ear when Castle added, "Invite Ducky too, we might as well make a night out of it."

Esposito nodded then spoke into the phone, "Ello chica." He listened for a moment then looked at Kate as he answered, "She's fine Lanie, they're both fine as far as I know." He listened again for a few moments then said, "Do you want to join us for drinks Lane? And invite Ducky too."


	21. Chapter 21

**I hope you like it :)**

They all walked into the bar and Kate and Castle led the way over to where they could see Lanie and Ducky sitting around their normal table near the back of the bar.

They all piled around, moving chairs when they ran out of room. Once everyone was seated Kate said, "What does everyone want, they do anything here, plus I know the owner."

Castle smirked at her, "Yeah, what can I get you all?"

"You own this place?" Tony questioned.

Castle nodded, "A case a few years ago was the murder of the owner of this place. I loved this place and wrote one of my books over there," he gestured in the general direction, "So when I found out it would be turned into one of the big chain bars I just sort of brought the place."

Kate shook her head then stood, pulling Castle with her. "Orders?" she asked. Once everyone had given the two of them their orders Kate and Castle made their way over to the bar.

Lanie watched them go then looked around the table, concentrating mainly on Ziva and Tony. "Do you know what's with them?"

"Well the two of them are both happier than they were when we left them, so I'm guessing they sorted out whatever was the problem," Ziva answered, smiling lightly.

Lanie turned her gaze towards the bar and smiled, "I think you might be right about that."

Everyone followed her gaze and Ryan and Esposito smiled the same as Lanie when they saw Castle and Kate. The two were stood by the bar, obviously waiting for the drink order, but what had the three smiling was that they were standing close together, Castle had his arm around Kate's shoulder and was leaning down to whisper something in her ear, something that was obviously funny since Kate threw back her head and laughed loudly before putting her arm around his waist and whispering something back to him. They could see his smile even across the crowded room and all cheered when Castle placed a gently kiss on her lips. The two turned towards them, both with big smiles on their faces before looking back at each other and whispering something else. They nodded at each other then picked up the tray of drinks the bar tender placed behind them.

The two made their way back to the table and handed everyone their drink before putting the tray on the table. Everyone thanked them and then Lanie smiled at her, "Told you so Kate, I told you so."

Everyone laughed as Kate stuck her tongue out at her best friend. Her and Castle shared a quick look before both turning their gaze to Tony and Ziva, who were sitting closer together then anyone else. Kate smiled at them and said, "Can you two come with us for a moment, we want to talk to you about something."

The two agents looked confused but agreed and stood. They picked their way over to where Kate and Castle were standing. Castle smiled at the rest of the group and said, "We'll be back in a minute, Moe the bar tender knows you're with me so when you want refills just yell."

Everybody nodded and then Castle led the way towards his office, his arm around Kate and closely followed by both Tony and Ziva. Castle opened the door and the four descended into the basement office. Once there Kate and Castle looked at Ziva and Tony. "We just wanted to say thank you to the both of you."

"Why thank us?" Ziva asked.

"Because it was the pair of you who talked us into talking to each other," Kate answered, "And we are so grateful for that."

Castle nodded then added, "And you both told us something and we wanted to ask you about it." He paused for a moment and looked at Kate, who nodded slightly. He looked back at Ziva and Tony and said, "Tony told me about rule 12, that you don't date co-workers but what the pair of you have wouldn't be dating, and if Gibbs doesn't see that then so be it, but everyone else does and everyone else can see just how much you mean to each other. You obviously mean a lot to each other so why not tell each other."

Tony and Ziva looked at each other then back at Castle and Kate then back at each other. "I… ugh," Tony started to say.

Kate and Castle shared a look at Castle said, "We'll leave you to it. I wanted to show Kate what I did with the passage anyway." He took Kate's hand and led her over to the secret passage. They through the two agents another smile before they disappeared into the tunnel.

Tony and Ziva watched them go then turned to look at each other. "What did you say to them?" they both asked at the same time.

The two laughed then Tony said, "Castle said that he could tell I cared about you."

"And do you?" Ziva questioned quietly.

Tony nodded, "I…I… Yeah I do. I hate it when you're sad, I hate it when you're in pain and I was so worried about you when you found out about Ray."

Ziva shook her head, unable to believe what he was saying.

Tony saw the action and took her hand gently asking, "Why else do you think I was so insistent on coming to get revenge in Somalia."

Ziva shook her head again then looked him in the eye and saw the truth there. They stood like that for a moment before Tony asked quietly, "So what about you? Castle said that we both said something."

Ziva looked away and at the floor. "Kate said I look at you the same way her parents looked at each other."

They stood in silence for a moment before Tony put a finger under her chin and moved her head so he could look her in the eye. "I don't care what Gibbs says, Castle is right, or at least about me, I care about you and I want to tell you." He looked her straight in the eye and said, "I love you Ziva David."

Ziva looked at him for a moment, her eyes roaming his face before she whispered back, "Against my better judgement I love you too Tony."

"Against your better judgement huh," before he could continue speaking however Ziva pulled him into a kiss.

"Yes," she said as she pulled back, "Against my better judgement."

All Tony could do was stand there and smile, unable to form a coherent sentence. They stood for a few seconds, for heads resting against each other's before Ziva smiled lightly and kissed him again, harder this time.

Tony responded eagerly, the two of them revealing in the feeling. They pulled apart and smiled at each other. "You know as soon as we walk out that door and Abby sees us she's going to know that something is different right?"

Ziva nodded, "I know, we're going to have to cover our ears."

There was laughter from the wall Kate and Castle had disappeared behind and Tony and Ziva turned and looked at it. Ziva went forward and opened the door; she had seen the way that Castle had done it before. Tony came up and stood close behind her. They were met by the sight of Castle and Kate both leaning against the wall of the tunnel, tears running down their faces they were laughing so hard.

Tony and Ziva smiled at them and Ziva asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Castle looked at her, "That would be me."

Kate nodded, "He was telling me about an incident on a plane a few years ago. Something about one of the passengers getting completely pissed and standing up and singing karaoke over the tanoy system."

"Oh that reminds me. Tonight is karaoke night Kate. Sing with me?" he looked at her with pleading eyes.

She shook her head, "No Castle, I can't sing."

Castle raised an eyebrow and said, "You forget, I've heard you sing before Kate."

She sighed, "Fine Castle, I'll sing with you."

Tony looked at Ziva. "Not a chance DiNozzo, not a chance."

"Please Ziva."

Ziva shook her head again but then Castle smiled, "I know, why don't we all sing together. I know the perfect song."

Ziva and Kate exchanged a long suffering look while Tony and Castle smiled at each other. "Fine," Ziva said while Kate grudgingly nodded, "But I reserve the right to leave if I don't like the song."

**The next chapter is going to be the last one.**


	22. Chapter 22

**So this is the last chapter. I hope you like it :D**

They came out of the office and while Tony, Ziva and Kate made their way back to their table Castle went to the bar and spoke with Moe. Instead of sitting back down Kate, Ziva and Tony picked up their drinks and stood, leaning against the back of chairs.

"What were you talking about?" Abby asked.

"Stuff," Tony answered, smiling at Ziva, "Kate and Castle wanted to repay a favour."

"Oh," Abby asked excitedly, "What favour?"

"Getting us together," Castle answered as he came to a stop behind Kate.

That peeked Abby's interest. "Repay a favour how?"

Tony and Ziva looked at each other and smiled before looking at Gibbs. He saw the look and said, "I take it you're ignoring rule 12?"

The two nodded and Gibbs smiled, "Fine, love doesn't count as dating anyway."

Castle laughed, "Told you so."

Abby squealed before jumping up and hugging both Tony and Ziva, jumping up and down as she did so. McGee smiled at them and said, "Congratulations."

Tony and Ziva smiled back at him then everyone looked at Castle when he said, "Come on, it's all set."

Abby let go of Tony and Ziva and asked, "What's all set?"

Castle just shook his head and took Kate's hand. By the bar the second bar tender was stepping onto the slightly raised platform. "Right, tonight is karaoke night and it is my pleasure to introduce the owner of this bar, Rick Castle and his friends, detective Kate Beckett and NCIS Special Agents Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David."

Castle and the others made their way forward while the group left at the table all cheered and whistled.

Castle stepped onto the stage first and held out his hand for Kate, she smiled at him and took it. Tony and Ziva took each other's hand and stepped up behind them.

Castle set up the machine and handed everyone a mic. Before he pressed play though he said, "Ok, Ziva and Kate do the girl part; we're doing the guy part."

Kate laughed, "I think that one we could have figured out ourselves Ricky."

He stuck his tongue out at her then started the machine. As the opening music started Kate and Tony laughed while Ziva looked confused. Tony saw the look and still smiling said, "When we get back I will introduce to the film Greece."

Ziva nodded then laughed as Tony and Castle started singing.

_I got chills.  
They're multiplyin'.  
And I'm losin' control.  
'Cause the power  
you're suplin',  
it's electrifyin'!_

Their voices weren't as high as John Travolta but they still sounded pretty good. Over at their table their friends were all laughing and cheering, except Gibbs and Ducky who were just sat smiling.

Ziva and Kate then sang,

**You better shape up,  
'cause I need a man  
and my heart is set on you.  
You better shape up;  
you better understand  
to my heart I must be true.**

_Nothin' left, nothin' left for me to do._

Everyone in the bar joined in with the backing for the chorus

**_You're the one I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
The one that I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
The one that I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
Oh, yes indeed._**

The boys were dancing across the stage and generally mucking around while Ziva and Kate were watching with affection clear on their faces.

**If you're filled with affection  
you're too shy to convey,  
meditate in my direction.  
Feel your way.**

_I better shape up  
'cause you need a man  
_**I need a man  
who can keep me satisfied  
**_I better shape up  
if I'm gonna prove  
_**You better prove  
that my faith is justified**

_Are you sure?  
__**Yes, I'm sure deep down inside.**_

By now the table was on their feet and the rest of the bar was laughing and joining in as Kate and Castle danced and Tony tried to show Ziva what to do.

**_You're the one I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
The one that I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
The one that I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo,  
The one I need  
Oh, yes indeed._**

**_You're the one I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
The one that I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
The one that I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo,  
The one I need  
Oh, yes indeed._**

**_You're the one I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
The one that I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo, honey.  
The one that I want  
_**(you are the one that I want),**_ o, o, oo,  
The one I need  
Oh, yes indeed._**

The song ended and the bar cheered. Kate, Castle, Tony and Ziva all bowed before handing Castle the mic's. the four jumped off the stage and came over to the table, all four laughing and smiling.

The table all clapped and cheered as they got closer and the four bowed again.

"Karaoke is going to have to become a regular thing," Lanie said as someone else got onto the stage.

Castle nodded and smiled at Kate, both looking flushed, "Yeah, I think it will."

The rest of the night was spent with everyone laughing and everyone went up on stage and sang at least once, even Ducky and Gibbs gave it a go, Gibbs after a lot of sweet talking from Abby.

Tony and Ziva hardly left each other's side while Kate and Castle commandeered the corner of the booth and Kate sat on Castle's lap, the two whispering and laughing with each other. Lanie, Ryan and Esposito watched happily, none of them had seen Kate this happy and free since they'd known her.

When they finally called it a night around two in the morning, Gibbs had driven Ducky back to their hotel before midnight, they were all getting close to very drunk but since it was the weekend and the detectives had it off none of them really cared. The NCIS team hadn't drunk quiet so much as they knew that they had a flight tomorrow but they had drunk enough to being decidedly unsteady on their feet.

Everyone was wobbling slightly as Castle locked up, he had sent Moe and the other tender home when Gibbs and Ducky had left, and they made their way to the side of the road, to the waiting cabs. Castle had called for some from inside the bar and everyone was glad of that given how deserted the streets were.

They said a goodbye to the NCIS team, all exchanging numbers and promising to keep in touch, they'd all made friends over the short time the team had been in New York but none more so than Kate and Castle with Tony and Ziva.

One everyone had gotten into the waiting cabs and driven away Castle helped Kate into the last cab. He gave the driver her address and sat and back and watched the streets go past, every so often stealing kisses but after the cabbie tutted at them a few times they stopped and just sat with their arms around each other.

When they reached Kate's apartment she looked at Castle and asked, "Do you want to come up?"

Castle thought for a moment, "You sure?"

Kate nodded and slid out of the cab. Castle paid the driver and got out behind her. The two put their arms around each other and supported each other's wobbly steps into Kate's building.

Tony and Ziva got into their cab along with McGee and a very giggly Abby. They gave the guy the address for their hotel and all sat talking quietly. Tony and Ziva were staring into each other's eyes, finally able to show their love on their faces.

When the cab stopped at the hotel Tony paid and they all got out and walked, unsteadily, into the foyer and into the lifts. Tony and McGee had been sharing a room, while Ziva and Abby were sharing another one. One look at Tony's face told McGee everything he wanted to know. Once the lift stopped McGee took Abby's arm and led her to his and Tony's room. Tony and Ziva smiled after them and Tony said, "Thanks McGoo."

He just waved his hand and said, "Remember we have a flight to catch tomorrow."

Tony nodded and put his arm around Ziva before saying back, "We're only going to snuggle McGee, I want our first time to be at home."

Both McGee and Abby clapped their hands over their ears and started humming loudly. Tony and Ziva both laughed and watched as they went into their room, hands still over their ears. Tony and Ziva looked at each other and smiled again. Ziva silently let them into her room and shut the door.

**And there you go, hope you liked it. No idea why I chose the Grease song but hey there you go and I think it actually goes quiet well.**

**Anyway, thanks for everyone who has stuck with this the whole way through and to everyone who has joined in along the way.**


End file.
